Category Archives: Political Party

KENYA: TOUGH RACE BETWEEN UHURU AND RAILA

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From: People For Peace
Colleagues Home & Abroad Regional News

BY FR JOACHIM OMOLO OUKO, AJ
NAIROBI-KENYA
WEDNESDAY, MAY 23, 2012

When Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta on Sunday launched The National Alliance (TNA) party which he will use to vie for presidency in the forthcoming general elections, under the slogan ‘I believe’, some ODM supporters ruled it out as a waste of time and resources. Whether they like it or not, Uhuru is someone to watch.

Although Nyatike MP Omondi Anyanga has dismissed a book being authored by former Prime M’s adviser Miguna Miguna is part of the scheme to tarnish the image of the PM ahead of the general election, this book should not be taken for granted.

According to Anyanga, any attempts to tarnish the image of Raila are bound to fail as he will win the next general elections. These were similar words spoken by Raila’s allies in 2007 but never worked on Raila’s favour.

When I spoke in Yala Catholic Church shortly after ODM nomination how Raila was going to be rigged out, Gem MP Jakoyo Midowo who was also present during the Sunday mass presided over by me, he took issues with me, saying there was no way Raila was going to be rigged out. In fact for Jakoyo Raila was already president.

I remember we exchanged bitter words with Jakoyo outside the Church after the mass. I was the ODM Returning Officer for Ugenya Constituency where I was beaten by Steve Mwanga’s supporters when they realized his name was missing on the ballot paper. I had gone to Yala to take refuge.

Anyanga like the rest of Raila’s allies, the rest of presidential candidates are anti-reformers coalescing together to employ dirty tricks as they are sure they will lose in the elections since most of them were just hatching on schemes to block Raila as a presidential candidate.

While this cannot be ruled out that G7, Gema, Kamatusha, Mudavadi could be the projects to ensure that Raila does not get 50plus percent required constitutionally to enable him to qualify for president; Uhuru is looking at re-run between him and Raila.

Believe it or not, the re-run is going to be the toughest campaigns Kenya has never seen since independence. Uhuru camp will make sure, even if to use all the money they have, that Raila does not make it to State House.

In his explosive new memoirs, Peeling Back the Mask, Miguna Miguna exposes Mr Odinga’’s lacklustre leadership – questioning his progressive credentials and claim that he is an agent of change.

The book presents a true insider’s account of the intrigues, discussions and power plays that have occurred in Kenya’s “corridors of power” in recent years. The book depicts a cowardly and dishonest leader undeserving of the praise and attention of recent years.

According to the publisher, the book presents a true insider account of the intrigues, discussions and power plays surrounding the leadership of the PM. The book is to be launched in London, Kenya, Canada, USA and South Africa later in July, according to Miguna.

According to the latest opinion poll from Strategic Research, Prime Minister Raila Odinga, even though he remains the most popular presidential candidate with 32.7 per cent of respondents saying they would vote for him, he is dropping tremendously.

A steady drop from the 36.9 per cent who said they would vote for him in March 2012 and his 40.1 per cent in January 2011 leaves a lot to be desired.

Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta was the second most popular candidate with 15.2 per cent of respondents saying they would vote for him, even though this was also a sharp drop from the 23.9 per cent support that he received in the last Strategic Research poll in March 2012, although up on his 11.7 per cent in January 2011.

There are several factors why Raila is dropping, the major one being of Deputy Prime Miniater Musalia Mudavadi’s exit from ODM to UDF. Since he ditched ODM he would be backed by 7.1 per cent of respondents, up from 1.8 per cent support in March and 0.8 per cent in January 2011.

Eldoret North MP William Ruto was the third strongest candidate with 7.9 per cent support, even though this was a decline from 10.6 per cent in March and 11.7 per cent in January 2011.

As Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka showed the same slumping popularity at 7.0 per cent, down from 9.7 per cent in March and 12.2 per cent in January 2011, Narc Kenya’s Martha Karua’s support rose to 5.3 per cent from 4.6 per cent in March. She was followed by Peter Kenneth with 2.5 per cent, Raphael Tuju with 1.9 per cent, Eugene Wamalwa with 1.4 per cent, Prof James ole Kiyiapi with 1.1 per cent, and Prof George Saitoti with 0.9 per cent.

Another reason why Raila is dropping is his failure to suspend Prof Anya’ng Nyong’o due to alleged controversial Sh4.3 billion civil servants’ medical National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) scheme allocated to ghost clinics.

The ICC is not an issue here according to Uhuru’s spokesman Mr Munyori Buku because nothing in law stops Uhuru from vying. His strategy of incorporating the youth in TNA leadership is not only a brilliant idea, but also making Onyango Oloo from Nyanza as party general secretary.

Apart from Oloo, Uuru has also made Johnson Sakaja from Western as the party’s chairman, Wambui Gichuru from Central as Treasurer, and Mr. Billiaha from the Coast as Organising Secretary. Moses Kuria, who has resigned as PNU spokesman, is likely to become TNA’s Executive Director.

This was to send signal to Kenyans that given that in Kenya, unfair allocation of national resources through nepotism and corruption has been the major factor that triggers conflict in the nation as some communities feel neglected while their counterparts enjoy enormous share of the national cake, Uhuru’s party was beyond tribal and nepotism.

Uhuru will also have an advantage following Prime Minister’s Raila Odinga’s step brother, Isaac Omondi Odinga’s public announcement that he will ditch ODM for the G7 Alliance.

Speaking at the Bungoma Posta grounds during the G7 prayer rally last month Omondi said no amount of intimidation will stop him working with the G7 politicians. Omondi is currently an ODM councilor for Kisumu’s Milimani ward.

Omondi has accused Raila of dictatorial tendencies, saying that the days for the presumed reformers who are the pillars of dictatorship are gone, and they either change or change will catch up with them.

Joshua Kuttuny, an ardent supporter of William Ruto was quoted as saying, “This is a warning shot to those who thought Nyanza is politically impenetrable. We now have a footing in the region, including within Raila’s own homestead.”

Omondi, who is the councilor of Milimani ward in Kisumu, has declared his intention to challenge his step brother Oburu Odinga in the Bondo parliamentary race. Oburu, who is an assistant Finance minister, has represented Bondo since 1994 when he succeeded his father, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga who died two years after he was elected Bondo MP.

Omondi is known to be a lone ranger in the Odinga family and pointedly refused to back the election of Kisumu mayor Sam Okello whom Raila endorsed. Omondi instead campaigned for James Oyolo who lost the election.

Omondi is the first born son of Jaramogi’s third wife Susan Agik Odinga who runs a tailoring businesswoman in Kisumu. Jaramogi was polygamous and had four wives— Mary Juma, Gaudencia Adeya, Susan Agik and Betty Adongo. Mary is the mother of Raila and Oburu. She died in 1984.

Uhuru and Ruto have been exchanging bitter words after Raila said the two should be in prison for crimes against humanity charges they are facing at the International Criminal Court instead of crisis crossing the country attending prayer rallies.

During the re-run Uhuru will no doubt get many votes from the youth who make up 60 per cent of the population. He is a member of the social Network facebook under profile name Uhuru Kenyatta from where he discusses important issue with the youth than Raila is doing in his Facebook network.

Some of the issues Uhuru is discussing with the youth include reduction of poverty and create employment opportunities for the youth. To reduce poverty, Uhuru is convinced that the country must adopt pro-poor and pro-growth policies whose success must be measured by how well they translate to poverty eradication. This seems to be comncing to the youth.

Uhuru will also gain from Martha Karua and Peter Keneth voters during re-run. Both Martha Karua and Peter Keneth are kikuyu. This is given the fact that historically in Kenya Kikuyus cannot vote for other tribes other than themselves.

Even though the Kalenjins are unlikely to vote for him because of the 2008 post election violence, Uhuru will use a lot of money to buy voters from other ethnic communities. Remember he is the most riches presidential candidate.

According to Forbes Magazine which recently published a list of Africa’s 40 richest persons, Uhuru Kenyatta ranked 26th and number one richest person in Kenya. His net worth was an estimated $500 million, which translates to almost 50 billion Kenyan Shillings.

This is how Forbes described his wealth: “Kenya’s Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta is the son of Kenya’s first President, Jomo Kenyatta, and heir to some of the largest land holdings in Kenya. He owns at least 500,000 acres of prime land spread across the country.

He will also gain from the Diaspora votes, estimated at 50 per cent with Raila getting 30 per cent only. This is because the rest of Keneth and Karua will go to him. Musalia’s votes will also go for him, given that he has been running on Uhuru’s UDF party.

Uhuru will even gain more if what The Star reported yesterday that he is planning to make Mudavadi his running mate. This will motivate the Luhyia communities, especially the supporters of Eugene Wamalwa.

He will also receive sympathy votes because he and Ruto will use ICC case for re-run campaign. They will convince voters that Raila thought at the time of elections they would have been already at The Hague.

Mind you already Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto are convincing Kenyans that Prime Minister Riala Odinga is the one taking them to face the International Criminal Court (ICC) for the crime of humanity. They are accusing Raila of being used by foreign governments to clear the way for him to ascend to power.

Already MPs allied to Uhuru and Mr Ruto have tabled a document in Parliament sensationally claiming that Britain was pushing to have President Kibaki indicted over the 2007/8 violence and Raila was the one behind all these.

Yatta MP Charles Kilonzo who tabled the document also accused the United Kingdom of propping up Mr Odinga and pushing for the detention of Mr Kenyatta and Mr Ruto. The document has since been dismissed by British High Commission as fake, even though Mr Kilonzo indicated that they had obtained the document from a member of the House of Commons.

The British High Commission has described the allegations as “preposterous,” and part of an unscrupulous agenda. The National Security Intelligence Service has also urged caution in handling the document.

People for Peace in Africa (PPA)
P O Box 14877
Nairobi
00800, Westlands
Kenya

Tel +254-7350-14559/+254-722-623-578
E-mail- ppa@africaonline.co.ke
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Website: www.peopleforpeaceafrica.org

THE ONLY ASIAN MEMBER OF KENYAN PARLIAMENT SHAKEEL AHMED SHABBIR IS FACING A LEAN TIME AND MIGHT FIND HIMSELF OUT OF THE AUGUST HOUSE COME NEXT POLLS.

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Writes Leo Odera Omolo In Kisumu City.

The battle for the Kisumu Town East parliamentary seat has began with several candidates declaring their interest in the seat.

Kisumu Town East is currently represented by an ODM MP Shakeel Ahmed Shabbir, the only Indian elected member of Kenyan parliament.

A former Mayor of Kisumu, Shabbir was imposed on the voters by the ODM leadership in an electoral area where close to 100 per cent of the voters are Luos, majority of them are the residents of Kajulu and Kolwa Locations and parts of the peri-urban areas of Kisumu City.

However, the MP dismal performance and failure to fulfill some of the promises which he had made to the voters are likely to dodge his effort to defend his seat at the next polls.

Shabbir had made a pledge that he would dedicate half of his parliamentary salary and allowances to the constituents to be used in funding development activities and helping the poor.

However, the MP is facing scathing criticism for only using CDF devolving fund for buying coffins for the dead, and not making any significant contributions or parting with half of his parliamentary income in aid of the poor. He had made the pledge in his election posters in 2007.

This time around he will face it with one of the most influential Kisumu Municipal civic leader Councilor Roberts Oruko Otuge of Kolwa East Ward.

Coun Otuge is the son of the late Alderman Q.C. Otuge Muoso, who for a long time was an aide of the late Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, and later served as the overall leader of the KANU Youth League in Central Nyanza.His father had served as the Kisumu Municipal Councilor and was later promoted to the now defunct position of Aldermanship, which was later abolished in Kenya’s Municipalities reflecting colonial relics by an independent Kenya government.

Otuge is one of the most influential civic leaders within Kisumu municipality represent Kolwa East Ward. He was prevailed upon in 2007. He was prevailed upon to stand down in favor MP Shabbir in 2007 by ODM leadership.

The tough talking Otuge has severely criticized the MP for having run-down development projects I the constituency despite of the availability of government devolving funds such a CDF, Road maintenance funds and the School Bursary Funds.

The Mp has appointed his own political cronies, most of the outside to run and poorly manage the funds.

Bridges built o the Kibos-Chiga Rabuor access and feeder roads were constructed in a shoddy manner. Most of them have since been washed away by the rising flood waters. The same could be said of roads in Kajulu East, especially in Nyabondo.

Otuge accused the MP for not having fulfilled the pledges, which he made during the 2007 general election. One of the promises was that the MP would dedicate half of his parliamentary salary and allowances towards helping the poor member of his constituents in donating the money towards the construction of public utilities such as schools and medical facilities in the area to cater for the sick people.

Instead the MP is only sending CDF money buying coffins for the dead. “We need this money to assist the living ones and not the dead. Al the devolving funds should be used to up lift the standard of living among he poor rural folk,” he said.

School bursary is being disbursed in a discriminative manner, which is only favoring he sons and daughter of the MP’s political cronies, and not the general public.

The CDF local disbursing committee is flooded by people from outside the constituency who have no interest in the development of the area and were only there to enrich themselves. Some of the CDF members were now see driving brand new sleek cars in town, whereas most of the CDF funded projects have yet to be completed.

Construction contracts tenders are dished out to friends of the MP. In most cases these people have done shoddy job and made away with millions of shillings.

Coun Otuge and also called for a team of investigators from the Kenya Integrity and Anti Corruption Commission and also from the office of the auditor general to carry out the forensic auditing of the CDF money in the area. How it has been utilized and where the millions have gone to.

Otuge disclosed that he had been requested to contest the sea by many members of the constituent as a result of dismal performance by MP Shabbir. He said the MP who lives in the comfort of Kisumu Town had no interest in the welfare of the constituents who are suffering perennial flood waters, lack of good roads and poor school and other infrastructure. He is even married to a woman from Bugoma in addition to his Indian wife who is living abroad and her children.

Ends

CAPTION IN ANOTHR ATTAHED MAIL PLEASE FIND THE PHOTO OF COUNCILLOR OTUGE THE MAN WHO WANT TO UNSEAT THE KISUMU TOWN EAST MP SHAKEEL AHMED SHABBIR

KENYA: HOW ODM LEADERS WERE DUPED BY HON.JAKOYO MIDIWO IN KISUMU

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By Our Reporter,

Fresh details is emerging how Kenya Prime Minister Raila Odinga cousin who is ODM Party Chief Whip and Gem Member of Parliament Jakoyo Midiwo duped ODM delegates drawn from Kisumu Town and Kisumu East Constituencis that they were to be paid which was never to be.

According to the delegates who attended the arrival ceremony which culminated with a brief briefing at the Jommo Kenya Sports Grounds, Jakoyo had through the ever drunkard and senile Dave Okwatch sent word to the delegates that they accompany him upon his arrival to Kisumu where he was to give a press briefing from Kisumu Airport with a promise that the delegates would paid one thousand and Civic leaders two thousand.

The entire delegation turned up plus other angry ones from adjacent constituencies accompanied by their councillors flocked the KIsumu Airport up to Kisumu town with expectations that they would be paid.

“Some of us even left our shambas with a view of being given something little which was never to be”lamented one civic leader.

The delegates says that upon Jakoyo’s ceremony being over the organisers started taking them in circles and when they confronted Jakoyo he told them that anyone who was bringing the monetary issue should be ready to be punished by the party as his/her name would be expunged from the delegates list’

“He told us that we were helping the party and there was going to be no payment and anyone who wanted payment should be ready to be disciplined by the party’s organs” a civic leader who approached him for a fuel reimbursement confided to us.

It was evident that all was not well as the delegates who never had fare trooped back to their homes hungrily and empty handed.

Attempts to get any comment from Jakoyo were fruitless as he never answered any

MAJOR CABINET RESHUFFLE IS LOOMING IN TANZANIA FOLLOWING HEATED DEBATE IN PARLIAMENT OVER THE ALLEGATIONS OF GRAFT IMPLICATING MINISTERS.

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Writes Leo Odera Omolo

INFORMATION emerging out of the Tanzanian capital, Dar Es Salaam says that major cabinet reshuffle is looming after five ministers in the current Chama Cha Mapinduzi {CCM} led government were recently implicated in fraud and mismanagement of government resources.

President Jakaya Kikwete who is also the national chairman of the CCM is reported to have called for urgent and terse meeting of the central committee of the ruling CCM to discuss how to salvage the government tainted image and reputation.

Opposition MPs as well as legislators from the ruling party were reported to have spoken out harshly and angrily over the alleged conduct of the ministers at the just concluded April parliamentary session which has been meeting in the political capital of Dodoma in Central Tanzania.

A no confidence motion by opposition MP Zitto Kabwe against the Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda, who is the leader of government business in parliament, was disallowed over legal technicalities.

Newspapers have reported that Pinda has already briefed the President Kikwete on the allegations of corruption, fraud and mismanagement of national resources leveled by fellow legislators from the ruling CCM against the Finance Minister Mustafa Mkulo, Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism Ezekiel Maige, Minister for Energy and Minerals William Ngeleja, Minister for Transport Omar Nundu and Minister for Regional Administration and Local Government Authorities George Mkuchika.

Nundu is aid to have sought to shift the blame to his deputy Dr Athuman Mfutakamba, sparking a furore in parliament.

Sources in the ruling party CCM legislators move to directly and openly implicate the ministers, the party’s top brass is concerned over losing ground to the opposition Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo m[CHADEMA}, its principal rival. The same source added that the ministers have been asked to write to the president offering to step down from their posts.

An MP from the ruling CCM representing Ludewa constituency in the Southern Highlands Deo Filikunjomba said sacking the ministers would not change the endemic culture of corruption in the county, adding “People are facing problems because of the rising inflation and the rampant corruption. These problems will not be solved by the ministers leaving their posts.”

The Opposition Chadema MP for Kigoma North Zitto Kabwe said that legislators had lost faith and confidence in President Kikwete government, while Hai MP and leader of the Official Opposition in the National Assembly Freeman Mbowe said Tanzanians were tired of the government not listening to them.

At the center of the debate were startling revelation contained in the 2009 / 2010 the Controller and Auditor general’s report, which alleges that the ministers have been involved in trading government properties.

.However, observers and analysis’ and a commentator Dr Azaveli Lwaitama was quoted by the a Nairobi publication the EASTAFRICAN, weekly as saying that he couldn’t see the president taking any action like firing or reshuffling his ministers.

“Taking such action would set a precedent, and the president is aware of that fact,”said Lwaitama. However, he added that individual ministers may be reprimanded with some unfortunate ones having their cases referred to the Prevention and Combating of Corruption Bureau.

Ends

USA: Republican political suicide

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2. "Obama To Make
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http://www.moveon.org/r?r=274744&id=40284-21095459-3IDPcRx&t=6

3. "Chart of the
Day: Student Loans Have Grown 511% Since 1999," The Atlantic,
August 18, 2011
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=274368&id=40284-21095459-3IDPcRx&t=7

"College costs
climb, yet again," CNN Money, October 29, 2011
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=274745&id=40284-21095459-3IDPcRx&t=8

4. "Student loan
rate hike: What you need to know," CNN Money, April 24, 2012
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=274746&id=40284-21095459-3IDPcRx&t=9

Paid for by MoveOn.org Civic Action, www.moveon.org,
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KENYA: THE BATTLE FOR POLITICAL SUPREMACY IN THE SOUTH RIFT REGIONS WILL BE FOUGHT ON THREE PRONGS INVOLVING THREE MAJOR PARTIES.

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News Analysis Leo Odera Omolo In Kericho Town.

FOLLOWING the recent ousting of Uhuru Kenyatta as the national chairman of the Kenya African National Union {KANU} the appointment of its interim officials and its planned revitalization politics of the South Rift regions is likely to take new dimension.

The vote’s rich region of the Rift Valley Province will be voting for close to sixteen members of Parliament following the recent realignment of the various constituencies and the creation of close to five new ones.

It is being estimated after the next voters registration exercise, the South Rift could register close to 2 million or slightly more voters as the result of the inclusion in the voter rolls of youths who have attained the ages of 18 years and issued with the new generation identity cards.

However, more attention will be focused on politics of the Kipsigis land, an area where three major political parties will be competing for close to 1.8 million votes in eleven parliamentary electoral areas.

The Kapsigis land has been blessed with three additional parliamentary Commission {IEBC], which were hived out of Kipkellion, Belgut and Bomet. The three additional sets were added on top of the existing eight sets bringing total parliamentary representations in the Kipsigisland to eleven.

The Kipsigis sub-tribe of the most populous sub-tribe of the larger Kalenjin ethnic groups occupies the two most populous Counties of Kericho and Bomet.

The constituencies include Kipkellion East, Kipkellion West, Belgut, Sigowet, Konoin, Buret, Sotik, Chepalungu, Bomet East and Bomet West.

Members of the Kipsigis community, however have extended the stakes in several neighbouring districts, and constituencies in Kuresoi East, Kuresoi West, Kilgoris, Rongai, Subukia, Narok South, Narok West and Molo.

As the result of mutual mistrust between the Kipsigis and their cousins in the North Rift, particularly the Nandis, Keiyos and Tugen, the recently formed United Republican Party of Kenya {URP}, which the Eldoret North MP William Ruto has declared that he will use as his vehicle to the State House, the re surging KANU influence in Kipsigisland could derail Ruto’s presidential ambition.

Moreover the influence and popularity of the Orange Democratic Movement {ODM} has yet to be fizzled out in the region. The party leader Raila Odinga, who is also the Prime Minister of Kenya still enjoys enormous backing and support of the Kipsigis people therefore anyone dismissing the party as “finished” in the region is not telling Kenyans the truth.

URP could have overtaken the ODM, but its leader William Ruto made two major blunders and several tactical errors.

Ruto is credited to have sponsored the move which saw the coup which ousted the former United Democratic Movement {UDM}, Deputy Chief of the General Staff and Vice Commander of all the combined armed forces of Kenya Lt.Gen.John Arap Koech a highly respected and an influential Kipsigis man. He replaced Koech with the former national chairman of the Kenya National Union of Teachers Joseph Chirchir a fellow Kipisigs from Buret s .

Grieved Gen. Koech resisted the take over and moved to court. But while the matter was still being handled by the Court, the same Ruto having assumed that he had already bagged the Kipsigis in his safe basket, felt it was time to bring the Maasais on board and brought in the former Speaker of the National Assembly Francis ole Kaparo whom he made the interim chairman of the UDM and kicked Chirchir out, though the latter resisted the move an action which caused a serious split in the party hierarchy.

Ruto’s supporters within the Kipsigis community whose numbers were swelling up day by day started dwindling. His popularity in the South Rift took a nose dive. Members of this ultra conservative saw the Eldoret North MP as someone who is pursuing the old Daniel Moi’s policy of “use and dump”.

During his twenty years long rein of power the retired President Daniel Arap Moi used several political elites in Kipsigisland and dumped them mysteriously after using them against each other.

The retired President made sue that none of the Kipsigis politician during each and every general election before they matured up and gained national recognition. Those used by Moi and dumped include the ate Alexander Bii who was pitted against Moi’s contemporary the late Dr Taaitta Araap Toweett in the voluntarily resigned and insisted in seeking for fresh mandate from the electorate voters who had voted for him in 1963 on a KADU ticket..

Toweett recaptured the Buret seat in 1969,but was later removed to pave the way for Moi’s newly fond friend in Prof.Jonathan Ngulolu Arap Ng’eno. In 1978. Another man used to eliminate other Kipsigis leaders the mightier Kipkalia Kones.

This stigma of use and dump is still very fresh in the mind and hearts of the Kipsigis people, making them suspicious of their cousin from the North. The community had run into difficulties with Moi when thy sought for his assistance so that they could buy an acquire some of the foreign owned tea plantations and factories in the region.

Instead of getting the assistance from Moi, the latter is alleged to have acquired some of the firms for himself and his families. The farms include Kaisugu Limited now owned by Moi’s family. Mau Forest Tea Estate and Factory was also acquired by Moi, but after the dismantling of its tea processing machineries, which were later reinstalled at his own Kiptagich Tea Factory in Kuresoi, the former President handed the 920 acres bear tea estate minus its processing plant to his former errand boy and roving ambassador, the former nominated MP Mark Too, who later sold the farm at an exorbitant price in excess of Kshs 270 million to a group of Kipsigis farmers and traders numbering about 43,000 shareholders under the business flagship Yasang’wan Company Limited.

Moi and some of his closest friends from the North Rift also allegedly acquired stakes at the Kipkebe Tea Estate and factory in Sotik and also in the Sotik Highland Tea Company. The two firms are located in Bureti district, while Kaisugu Limited and Mau Forest tea companies are in Kericho district.

The Kipsigis felt the Moi’s KANU regime had favored their cousins fro the three sub-tribes in the north, namely the Keiyos, Tugens and the Nandis at the expense of the close to 9 other sub-tribes that forms the larger Kalenjin community. And that the Northerners had not only marginalized the Kipsigis politically, but also economically.

Endowed with an area with the highly fertile highlands, which produces close to 60 per cent of tea, and arguably advantaged with men and omen with highest education, the Kipsigis people have stretched their influence to the neighboring districts due to their lust for land and settlement.

The present Kuresoi constituency is represented by Zakayo K. Cheruiyot the former powerful PS in-charge of Internal Security and Provincial Administration. Kuresoi has received extra additional parliamentary constituency and will now be represented in the next parliament by two MPs.

A member of the Kipsigis community can easily bag the Kilgoris seat in the neighboring Tans-Mara district due to the its massive settlement in the region which started in 1961 and has since brought their voters strength almost at par with those of the indigenous Maasai people at 50-50.

Many Kipsigis people have settled in both Narok West and Narok South constituency where they have the swing votes. The same could be said of Rongai and Subukia as well Molo constituencies in Nakuru.Since independence in 1963, many Kipsigis people moved out of the region, bought farms and settled in other areas like Koibatek, Cheranganyi, Nandi Hills, Tans-Nzoia, Laikipia and Nandi North

In comparison with other Kalenjin ethnic groups, the Kipsigis are arguably much more wealthier due to tea excessive farming and also favorable trades with their neighbors in milk, vegetables, maize and other foodstuff, Due to he presence of larger number of workers in he tea plantations and factories, the circulation of money in the two Counties of Bomet and Kericho is the highest. This ha reduced the poverty index n the region drastically.

The political history of this region is that the Kipsigis people have been supportive to KANU ever since the dissolution of KADU in 1965. But the community charged its political allegiance to KANU drastically in 2002after the retired President Daniel Moi had anointed Uhuru Kenyatta as his successor.

However, not all of them had ditched and abandoned KANU. But in 2007 the community voted for ODM and its presidential aspirant Raila Odinga on man-to-man basis returning all eight of its MPs on ODM ticket.

Two people were credited for having succeeded in vigorously campaigning and persuading the Kipsigis to abandon KANU altogether and voted for ODM. These were the late Kipkalia Kones, and the Lt.Gen {rtd} John Arap Koech.

But things did not work well immediately soon after the appointment of the ODM members in the coalition government cabinet. Some of the MP of the Kipsigis region disapproved the appointment of three Nandis – all fro the North Rift, whereas the majority Kipsigis people who gave the ODM close to 1.2 million voters ended up with only one cabinet slot.

Arithmetically, the ODM had harvested close to 900,000 voters in both Kericho and Bomet Counties, whereas the combined votes garnered by the party in the entire Nandi region was less than.240,000 But the party had taken into consideration the seniority in the party ranks. Henry Kosgei, the Tinderet MP is the national chairman of the party, while William Ruto, the MP for Eldoret North happen to be the Second Deputy party leader, and as such there was no way the Prime minister Raila Odinga could have left them out of the cabinet.

The most outspoken MP was the former Minister in the Moi regime Isack Ruto the Chepalungu MP who took Raila Odinga head-on accusing him of having short-changed his community in the cabinet appointments. Coincidentally, the thorny issue of evicting the illegal squatters at the contentious Mau Forest came in and fueled more disagreement between Kalenjin MPs allied to William Ruto and Raila Odinga.

Our of the eight MPs fro the Kipsigis community, only four bolted out and joined William Ruto in rebellion against Raila. Four of them stayed on and maintained their unswerving loyalty to the party. These are Franklin Bett the Minister for Roads, Magerer Lang’at an Assistant minister for Energy, Mrs Beatrice Kones, an Assistant Minister for home Affairs and Dr. Joyce Laboso the MP for Sotik in whose constituency anti-Raila leaflets surfaced last week.

The team which rebelled and abandoned the ODM and moved out with William Ruto include Isack Ruto {Chepalungu}, Dr Julius Kones {Konoin}, Charles Keter {Belgut} and Benjamin Lang’at {Ainamoi}.

However, none of the two groups can claim having upper hand a far as popularity inside Kipsigisland is concerned. Opinions are divided between URP and ODMN with KANU trailing the two parties in third position.

The perception that William Ruto and his URP is the most popular leaders and calls the shots in Kipsigis region is not true. When the time for the actual election came, the battle for political supremacy ill be fought in three prongs, namely URP, KANU an ODM, Nicholas Biwott’s Vision Party of Kenya and the UDM could share the spoilt and also succeed in harvesting one or two seats each. It will also depend on ho each party could sustain its presence up to the finishing line.

William Ruto’s flirtation with Uhuru Kenyatta, however, is not well taken by the Kipsigis people who blames Uhuru’s father the founding president for having facilitated the massive settlement of Kikuyus in the regions the Kipsigis people considered as their God given land in the rift Valley. It is also imperative that the Kipsigis and the Kikuyus have fought over the same land ever since 1992-93, 1996-97 and 2007 incurring heavy loses in terms of lives of human being, property and homes.

The reconciliation between members of the two communities appears to be within only he lips of their politicians, but not well cemented in the grass root, and this need more public relations exercises as well as civic education. The same could be said of the reconciliation between the Kisiis and Kipsigis people along the Borabu-Sotik volatile district borders.

Here is no single political party which controls the population in the South Rift region of the expansive Rift Valley Province, and many of the parties could merge victorious comes the next polls.

Ends

Kenya: Mudavadi’s indecisiveness is his greatest weakness

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From: dick.aduonga@ . . .

Mr Musalia Mudavadi, after a tough soul searching, finally made a decision to leave Orange Democratic Movement (ODM). I wish him well in his search for a new party. However, he would have liked Kenyans to believe that he is leaving because of lack of democratic space in ODM, the same party he, Musalia Mudavadi, has been leading as deputy leader for the last four years.

Based on all the public facts available, it is possible that he has been influenced by external factors rather than internal ODM politics. In the past few months, the deputy leader asked the party National Executive Council to review its presidential nomination clause which gives the party leader automatic right to be nominated as a sole presidential candidate. One would loudly wonder why he would object to a clause he knew very well existed in the party constitution for the last four years and never once informed the party of his disdain of it and yet seven or so months to the national polls, he finds the party structures and its leadership so incompatible with his dearly held political principles that the only way forward is to exit.

The former deputy leader has every right as a citizen to make whatever decisions he chooses, that is his constitutional right which must be fiercely defended. However, the cause and impact of such decisions ought to be rigorously evaluated especially when one is a public leader. In most working major democracies for example in the common wealth group of nations, of which Kenya is a member and our Constitution is a mirror of, the tradition is that if the general membership or a section of it feels the leadership is inept and unable to fulfil national party objectives, they call for party elections to change the leader. If the party leader retains his position, he leads his team to the next national polls and if not the newly elected leader takes the mandate. This model has worked well in India, Australia and United Kingdom among others and since Musalia never challenged Raila Odinga for the party leadership position but for the presidential nomination only, his objectives may still be politically suspect.

A time has come for the freedom fighters of the second liberation to team up with the freedom fighters of the third liberation to take the bull by the horn and finally liberate our motherland from the insidious schemes of the darker forces that are not ready to embrace the new constitutional dispensation. To the mischievous minds constitutional freedom for the masses is dangerous simply because they never envisaged that one day working class people would be free to enjoy their constitutional rights. Kenya is changing for the better and some people have not accepted that and for Musalia who has reached a T-junction, it must only mean one thing, decision time as indecision could be his greatest weakness

By Dickson Aduonga

KENYA: AN OPEN LETTER TO PRIME MINISTER RAILA ODINGA’S SPOKESMAN DENNIS ONYANGO

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I hope that this my letter finds you when you are okay but seeing what you are not believing in regard to the current goings on within your much revered party the Orange Democratic Party (“hiyo chungwa yenu”}.

Actually the aim of my addressing you is not to help you agonizing over the current goings on within ODM (which is and has never been my business} to knock some sense to you in regard to the article you wrote in “The Star”paper of 18th April 2012 titled ”This is our defining moment” actually I wondered whom you were referring to “our” in your article, whether luos,ODM adherents or the Wanjikus of Kenya.

To begin with my friend Dennis after reading your entire article which “began and ended with Raila”,two things caught up my eyes and that’s the reason why I am addressing u via this forum.

You are blatantly lying to make Kenyans believe that “Raila gave a voice and tried to bring democracy to KANU when all were voiceless”, I want to slightly jog your memory a little way back, didn’t Raila sold LDP to KANU and he was rewarded with the Molasses Plant?which democracy are you talking about yet Raila was given the post of KANU Secretary General after former President MOI sacrificed his the then Minister to create a post for him and his other party members?

To you by one selling a political party his members has entrusted him with for material and personal gain is what you call “fight for democracy”

I agree and concur with you fully when you say that “The truth is that leaders are the sum total of decisions they have made in the past” which has made Raila to quickly sneak to Sagana and made apolitical deal with President Mwai Kibaki without considering and consulting those who voted for him? Surely if he had won why couldn’t he maintain that he had won and nothing more and nothing less?

I know you are writing for survival but are you not aware that Raila’s brother Dr.Oburu Osdinga is an Assistant Minister in the key Finance Ministry as a result of the deal Raila hatched at Sagana?

Again how do you talk about “a likely new leader who can be manipulated and weak and co-opted into the ranks of the established elite” yet going Raila Odinga’s party nominations , its always the highest bidder and rewards is pegged on nepotism and political sycophancy.

I wonder why you opted to compare Raila with Hon.Martha Karua, these are two distinctive politicians right from their academic qualifications to there political views and what they stand for.

I would not wish to humbly request you to present me with your boss educational curriculum vitae, I will demand that as a Kenyan next time I will be addressing you, I would wish you tell me who Raila schooled with and where he schooled and who were his teachers/lecturers or tutors.

Lastly Dennis,to me Raila never “won” the last general elections if indeed he “won and robbed as he says always ” then let me ask him a layman’s question;”Bwana Odinga why are you not the President?”.

There is a gentleman presently Called Allasane Outara he is presently a President in one of Western African Francophone countries, are u aware how he became President?.

Please let us know what happened at Sagana State Lodge that day, once you will have told us your side I will truly let u know what I gathered.

Yours truly
Agwanda Saye

It is time Kenyan leaders approach national issues with sober mind to avoid rekindling chaos

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Commentary By Leo Odera Omolo

Our beloved country is surrounded by several failed states, ungovernable nation and struggling economies due to man-made mistakes.

Witnessing these political scenarios in our immediate neighbors should serve as the best lessons.for us. And also as a deterrent advance warning for anyone bent on making political mischief in our country.

Although God has been with us ever since our nation attained its political independence 49 years ago, however, there is no guarantee that the same could be with us in the next decades to come..

But if we are strong enough to discard negative ethnicity and parochial thinking; I am sure for certain that we can weather the storm.

As at for now, our country appear to be heading to cross to a road judging from the chest thumping utterances by leading politicians from our parties.

The worse of it all, however, is the latest development whereby some people have started mixing politics with religion.And the latest culture of other issuing threat to the lives of their perceived political enemies whether real or imaginary.

And with the election days now ticking on very fast, this is the time when we should all stand upright to be counted,
including religious leader hard pray hard for the Divine intervention so that our Almighty God could find an alternative escaping route for us, which is devoid of the previous experiences of the 2007/2008.

Instead of religious leaders giving Kenyan spiritual nourishment trough prayers in the churches and mosques, they have gone solo agitating for cabinet appointment that is based on religion and not on political ability and reputation.

In this context, I have in mind some of the degrading comments and utterances made this week by a certain section of Muslim leaders following the latest cabinet reshuffle effected by the two principals of the coalition government President Mwai Kibaki and the Prime Minister Raila Odinga to streamline the ministries.

Cabinet reshuffle is just the very normal re tune in every government’s normal exercise. In the neighboring Tanzania such reshuffles have occurred whereby some people who had held plum ministerial slots for decades have been at time demoted and posted to serve the nation in other capacities even as low as the regional commissioners, which is an equivalent PCs in our country.

But the seemingly more patriotic Tanzanian official, however, have always taken their new posting with pride and serves their people diligently without any complaint.

The supremacy of political parties is also paramount in that once you appointment of election to a public body was sponsored by a particular political movement, one must toe the line and strictly adhered o the policy and programmes of the sponsoring party. One working under such circumstance must always avoid flirtation with leaders from other parties which are perceived to be not reading in the same script with the doctrines of the party which had brokered such appointment of sponsored the person in question. It could be even worse in a coalition government like the one we have in Kenya.

In this context, I have in mind the sacking of the Tourism Najib Balala who is an ODM for Mvita. This legislator was elected on an ODM ticket to serve all the resident of Mvita constituency irrespective of their ethnicity, tribes, race religion, or creed.

It is arguably that Balala was one of the most effective and efficient Minister in the coalition government, but at the same time we must not lose our sight that he his appointment was brokered by the ODM a part of it cabinet share in accordance to the national accord, and a such his loyalty to the sponsoring political party is paramount and superseded any other consideration. Balala’s sacking therefore was long over due.

I therefore strongly disagree with those accusing Raila Odinga of being a dictator. The question of dictatorship id not arise nor is the question of dishonesty on the part of the Prime Minister. In my view Raila is too tolerant person a far as the essence of party politics are concern. He has accommodated many politicians with diverse opinions under the one roof of his ODM party.

We must remember the old past, especially during the reign of power of the retired President Daniel Arap Moi’s KANU regimes when some Ministers were forced to remove their cabinet flags flying in their vehicle bonnets by the police manning the road blocks after the swift sacking announcement at lunchtime via the Voice of Kenya.

It is still fresh in our minds of an incident in which cabinet Minister from Western Kenya was caught in cross fire a s he drove from Nairobi to Nakuru on his rural home on one early afternoon after he had been fired via one o’clock radio news footage, which he apparently was unaware of. The former Minister got a shock for his life. He was stopped at a police road block near Naivasha town, while sleeping on the left side of the back seat of his vehicle; ordered not only to remove the flag on his car, but also to surrender the official government vehicle to the next nearby police station and find his own way home. What a humiliation experience?

The impending general elections will come and go like any other previous elections and as such we should not lose our sight on the important task of building Kenya as one strong and a united nation.We must tone down our emotions and avoid venomous utterances while taking into consideration that not all of us will be sitting in the State House, but only one Kenyan with God’s blessing will be the sojourner in that House on the hills.

I am not only blaming the politicians, but also strongly abhorred the quack clergymen and priests who have been offering their services cheaply to politicians by offering them prayers by roadside, public rallies in return of financial gains or political favors.

These are some of the most ungodly actions in our country. Such religious persons have no moral authorities to offer prayers to the politicians outside the established churches of God. I am sure for certain that God doesn’t listen to their sycophantic and commercialized prayers and those they are praying for could face the severest punishment instead of blessings.

All in all Kenyan leaders must tone down and seek for divine intervention so that peace could prevail in our beloved motherland. The true spirit of cohesion is the answer, and not by the way of government creating so many money guzzling and ineffective commissions which are only consuming taxpayers money without achieving any tangible result that is good for the Wananchi.

Instead offering prayers for drunken youth accompanying politician in public rallies, our religious leaders should organize one national day of prayers for the soul of those thousand of Kenyans who laid down their lives as the result of politically motivated killings during the post-election violence and those our people who wallowing in abject poverty at the numerous IDP camps.

Our leaders should brainstorm together and find the solution of how to settle the IDP so that they could resume the normal life, and have their soul and spirits genuinely reconciled with their tormentors who violently evicted them fro their legally acquired farms and property. We must not be deceiving ourselves that our leaders have reconciled themselves simply for political expediency. The genuine reconciliation must take the root in the grass roots in rural locations in places lie Narok South, Molo, Elburgon, Kuresoi, Olengruone, Londiani, Burn Forest, Turbo, Uasin Ngishu, Cheranganyi, Nandi North an Nandi South, Nandi Hills,Naivasha,Trans-Nzoia, Tans-Mara,Nakuru, Sotik-Borabu borders.

These are the place where clergymen should be accompanying politicians while preaching the gospel of serious and genuine reconciliation involving the population. Such prayers meeting are so necessary and most essential as we are approaching the next general elections. Such reconciliatory prayers must involved the elders of the communities and the down trodden citizens of this country, some who are so bitter for having lost the possession of anything they had before 2007/2008 orgies. Instead of half-hearted votes hunting reconciliation meetings like those we have witnessed in the recent past.

Let us build a better Kenya for the future generation and stop placing our country in the election mood at the times. This is naive and primitive please give Kenyans a break so that they could cultivate and pant their farms now that the long rains is around.

There is nothing wrong with us holding the next general election in March 2013 as per High Court judgment, but there Is still room for the two principal to agree and have this date changed to December this year owing to other logistics and technical problems such as schooling period for our children etc.

Ends

Tanzania: Nyerrere’s son is among the political heavyweights in the contest for EALA regional parliament seats

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Writes Leo Odera Omolo

The son of the Tanzania’s founding president Julius Kambarage Nyerere are among the political heavyweight whose names have been submitted to the Clerk to the National Assembly by the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi {CC for possible nomination to the East African Legislative Assembly {EALA}.

The nomination will take place in the political capital of Dodoma this after noon when Parliament resumed it sittings

The Clerk to the National Assembly Dr Thomas Kashilila confirmed last night that the CCM has proposed 24 names of candidates approved to contest the EALA eight seats positions apportioned to it, while the opposition parties represented in parliament have been allocated one seat bringing to nine ,the total number of equal East African Community partner states representation in the prestigious regional legislative body.

CCM ideology and publicity secretary Nap[e Nnanye confirmed that among CCM candidates are Makongoro Nyerere, the son of Tanzania founding president the late Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere who is the current CCM branch chairman in his North Mara region home turf.

Makongoro Nyerere’s entry into regional politics is expected by observers o rekindle Nyerere’s long cherished dream of a united and prosperous East Africa.

The election to the EALA has also aroused political interest because for the first time, it has attracted the sons of prominent former and sitting high profile ruling party CCM leaders.

Others names floated by the CCM for nomination included those of Abdallah Ali Mwinyi, sons of former president Ali Hassan Mwinyi, William John Malecela, son of the former Prime Minister and long serving Tanzanian Minister for Foreign Affairs John Malecela, and Dr Said Gharib Bilal, who is related to the incumbent Vice President Dr Mohamed Gharib Bilal.

Other CCM aspirants are Ruth Blasio Msafiri,Shy-Rose Bhanji, Siraju Juma Kaboyonga,Angela Juma Kazigha, and Adam Omar Kmbisa. The list also includes Happyness Lukiko, Norah Petero Mukumi, Simon Sales Berege,Mrisho Gambo, Handley Mpoki Matwega, Nussa Elias Mnyeti, Safia Ali Rjiali and Maryam Ussi Yahya.

Others listed in the same CCM lists of recommended aspirants includes Rukia Seif Msellem, Sabah Saleh Ali, Haji Mwita Haji, Ahmada Hamad Khatib,Abdul-Aziz Abdul Aziz and Bennard Simon Murunya, while the opposition CHADEMA has submitted one name of its nominated Antony Ecalit Komu.

Political pundits commented that “ It would be worrying if the ordinary candidates would outshone the sons of the political heavyweights in this race’ But international trade lawyer Edward Lekaita was quoted as saying that MPs should not look at big names, but instead pick EALA MPs based on merit.

“The election is not about CHADEMA or CCM candidates, but I is about getting serious country representatives o the ambitions of the EAC integration process,”

Meanwhile Kenya’s nomination of representatives to the EALA is will be a clear departure from the past when they were hand-picked by political parties.

Candidates seeking nomination to the Arusha based regional parliament will now be scrutinized by the Defense and Foreign Relations Committee before being vote for by MPs with the Clerk of the National Assembly acting as a returning officer.

Ends

Kenya Elections – – The history is just about to repeat itself as Mudvadi gambles with his political future

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Commentary By Leo Oder Omolo

So they say; the history is just about to repeat itself as we Kenyans as the deputy leader of the ODM Wycliffe Musalia Mudavadi wobbles around and is just about to quit the party that had rescued him from political oblivion four and half years ago

He should therefore tread carefully while swimming in the murky waters of the intriguing Kenya’s politics, He is more safe and had a promising political flute in ODM than in other political movement.

Few months to the year 2002 general elections, the retire President Daniel Arap Moi stunned and shocked everyone when he announced that he had anointed Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta as his successor at the presidency and the KANU torchbearer.

Moi did this to the chagrins of many senior cabinet members and KANU politicians who felt Kenyatta was still a political novice. Those who felt short-changed strongly protested against the move. This was followed soon by mass resignation of close to half the cabinet members who included KANU stalwarts who had remained steadfastly in the party for many years.

Led by the then Energy Minister Raila Odinga whose LDP party had merged with KANU in a short lived KANU-LDP amorphous coalition government and other long serving ministers who included KANU stalwarts like William Ole Ntimama, Simeon Nyachae,Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka, Chris Okemo, Moody Awori, Dr Paul Adhu-Awiti and others.

Those who bolted out of the KANU regime joined hands with the official opposition leader in parliament Mwai Kibaki of DP, Michael Kijana Wamalwa of Ford Kenya and Charity Ngilu’s National Alliance of Kenya and formed the National Rainbow Alliance Coalition {NARC} which became a thorn in Moi’s flesh and hounded him out of power bringing to an abrupt end of the KANU rule which had spanned for close to 40 years.

Wycliffe Musalia Mudavadi was then a senior cabinet Minister in the Moi’s last regime serving as the Finance Minister. He briefly joined the protesting group and had resigned his cabinet post. However, the son of Moi’s long time friend and brother in-law the late Moses S.Budamba Mudavadi {the King of Mululu} soon developed cold feet, and rescinded his resignation. He rejoined President Moi’s cabinet.

Moi in turn rewarded him adequately elevated him by appointing him to the plum position of the Vice Presidency of the Republic making his principal deputy. He went down in the annals of history a Kenya’s fourth Vice President who had served for the shortest period of time. Virtually less than six months.

In December 2002, Mudavadi meteoric rise was brought to abrupt end. He did not only lose his number two slot, but also lost his hitherto one the safest Sabatia parliamentary seat, which he had inherited from his late father Moses for many years ever since wrestling it from he former holder Peter Kibisu in the late 1960s. He was swept I t

If at all Mudavadi had not learn political lesson following the events of December2002, then it is my sincere and passionate appeal to him that he should stick and remain steadfastly in ODM and continue working with Raila Odinga in any capacity. This is the party where his feature is looking bright.

It is imperative to remind the Sabatia MP that the war of attrition that has raged on between Raila Odinga and William Ruto had came about as the result of the latter’s continuous protection and defense of Mudavadi to remain his principal deputy whereas Ruto an his allies felt shot-changed. The Ruto’s allies felt they had the numbers and therefore he should have been the one to occupy the number two slot in the party hierarchy.

The pro-Ruto group argues that Mudavadi had no significant following in his Western Province home turf. This is a fact, taking into account that Mudavadi hail from the minority Maragoli, a Luhyia concocted sub-clan which is said not to get along well with other Luhyia sub-clans, particularly the dominant Bukhusuand Tachoni of Bungoma the Isukha and Ikolomani of Kakamega, Bunyore of Vihiga,Samia and Bunyala of Busia, Bukhayo, Marachi and the Teso tribe of Busia, Wanga, Khisa of Mumias and all other smaller sub-clans.

It will be indeed an uphill task for Mudavadi to garner the votes in all these mixture of sub-tribes with different cultural background. Political history of Western Province is quite different fro that of Luo-Nanza where the community is absolute and unanimous behind “Agwambo”. Even in some of the Luhyia sub-tribes with the Luo backgrounds do support the Prime Minister” Raila Odinga in his lust for the presidency than they can support Mudavadi.

In this context, it is my contention that Mudavadi should stay put and steadfastly remain in ODM where he is much safe and has a promising future in politics than wavering about jumping from one political party of the other. I have a lot of respect for the Sabatia MP whom I admired his moderate approach to contentious issues, his calmness and political magnanimity and as such, I am therefore appealing to him not to leave he ODM.

He has been in that party for too long and knew pretty well its laid down nomination rules and regulation therefore demanding that they be changed at the last minutes in an after thought, and this move cannot not convince anybody. But his latest move could only give the credence and support to the allegation that the DPM is acting at the behest of external, but invisible forces out to scuttle the ODM chances of winning the next polls.

The other smaller sub-clans within Kakamega and Vihiga Counties also don’t get along well with the Maragolis. These sub-clans are known to be suspicious of the Maragolis accusing them of graft and for having used their economic superiority and advanced in modern education to grab all the key economic positions in the region.

The accusation being made against the Maragolis include the alleged grabbing of all the important key business plots in Kakamega Town, other nearby trading centers and market places. And as such the Sabatia can only count on the genuine support and backing of two MPs from neighboring constituencies with the majority of Maragoli voters. These are Hon George Khaniri of Hamisi, and Yusuf Chanzu of Vihiga and not beyond this.

His political enemies knew very well how he is standing in an awkward position as far as the composition of the voting pattern by the communities in Western Province are concern and apparently only interested in having him sacrificed.

As soon as Mudavadi ditches ODM, the voice now calling on him to abandon ODM party land promising him of a block voting in Western Province, like those of Khalwale, Shitanda, Jirongo will evaporate and melt away not to be heard again. And Musalia chances of winning the presidency and step in into State House would be doomed to fail. I am sure for certain that his handlers and financiers are all aware of all these political scenarios.

If Muadavadi takes the risk and gambles on his political future, he will have nobody to blame for his downfall, but his own lifestyle of inconsistency, lack of foresight and opening up for the masters of political deceits to misguide him. So they say, twice beaten, twice shy. He was once beaten in 2002 and sent to political limbo for five good years, and praying that nobody misguides this son of my great friend once again for the second time.

I am glad that Raila Odinga and other ODM leaders have made it clear that that plans were a foot to have the ODM nomination system changed even after having its constitution registered with the registrar of political parties. He should be patient.

Ends

Kenya: People claiming to be close friends of Raila Odinga need to be tamed as some of their actions could detrimental to the PM popularity inside Luo-Nyanbza

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IF RAILA ODINGA FAILS TO WIN THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION THIS TIME ROUND THAT WOULD BRING THE ODINGA FAMILY DYNASTY AND DOMINATION OF LUO POLITICS TO AN END.

News Analysis By Bob Ndira Uradi

IF what has been appearing in the columns of our local newspapers depicting members o the Odinga family as greedy people who are hell-bent in winning all the important elective positions within the ODM, senate, parliament, county governance and county wards representatives is true then the influence I this region may soon come to an abrupt end.

The Odinga family has dominated the Luo politics ever since this country attained its political independence in 1963 with the zeal, though not much has been achieved under the family leadership and political patronage in terms of the community economic empowerment..

Many Luos re still wallowing in abject poverty while the Odingas are swimming and stinking in massive wealth.

Discontent is building up in many parts of Luo-Nyanza following the rumors making the round that the Odinga had earmarked their own to take over various elective positions within Siaya County and to an extent allegedly positioned their political surrogates and sycophants to win the ODM party tickets for nominations in various parliamentary electoral areas.which are scattered within all the four Counties of Siaya, Kisumu, Homa-Bay and Migori.

The alleged scheme to have their own political surrogate in every elective position has raise political temperature in almost every district in the region.

A near physical combat and fist punch-ups recently witnessed at the home of Dr. Oburu Oginga’s Bondo rural home is a clear evidence of the tension which is building up around the Odinga family.

The Finance Assistant Minister who is the elder brother of the Prime Minister Raila Odinga had invited ODM party delegates from all over Siaya County to a get-together party at his country home.

The purpose this party, according to an insider was to familiarize the party officials and also to seek for their endorsement of his {Dr Oburu} as the ODM candidate for the Siaya Senate seat in the impending general elections.

The delegates, however,got the wind that Dr Oburu Oginga has set his sight on the Senate seat and is planning to relinquish his position as the Bondo MP and has since earmarked his son Elijah Abonyo Oburu to be his successor.

The delegates came to the Assistant Minister’s home while readily armed with information that his younger step-brother Isaack Omondi Odinga who is a civic leader representing Milimani Ward within Kisumu Municipality has also declared his interest in the same seat.

It was also reported that the youngest sister of the Prime Minister Ruth Adhiambo Oginga is also eying the Kisumu County governor position. The move by Raila’s sister to capture the governorship position in Kisumu City is being resisted vehemently by the indignant communities within the County.They included the residents of Nyakach, Nando, Muhooni, Kisumu Town East, Kisumu Central, Kisumu Town West and Seme constituencies.

.She is indeed considered as an outider and an imposer out to deprive the local of their right of representation by an indignant person. He home is in Bondo..

Although it is true that the entire member of the Luo community is unanimous and will their unswerving support the Prime Minister’s presidential ambition, however, what the Odinga family is exhibiting that of trying to bag each and every elective position is viewed in other quarters as excessive arrogance and greediness. Bondo constituency comprises of two major sub-clans, namely the majority the Jo-Sakwa and the minority the Jo-Yimbo group. Dr Oburu’s father the late Jaramogi Ognga Odinga has represented the constituency ever since its inception in 1963 having only had break during his years of tribulations and incarcerations when the likes of Dr.William Odongo Omamo and Jonah Hezekiah Ougo-Ochieng got the opportunity of representing the electorate n the area in his absence.

In the entire previous contest for the seat, Gideon Ochanda from Yimbo has put up a good performance and in the 2002 election that he almost beat Dr.Oburu hand down. The popular opinion now making the round in Bondo town and its environs is that the family should now give a break and a breathing space to another person to be elected as the next MP for Bondo.

Another incident occurred at the weekend when women leaders almost come closer to exchanging fist blows. It was during the burial of a highly respected woman farmer Mrs Dorkas Akeyo. J.Oyugi- Ogot.

The trouble was sparked off by derogatory remarks by the ODM coordinator in Nyanza Mrs Monica Amolo who has always been bragging off as being the one who is close to the Odinga family. Mrs Amolo was recently elected the Homa-Bay County branch treasurer.

In her address before thousands of mourners who had gathered in the homestead to give Mrs Dorkas Oyugi a solemn sending off, she turned the heat on the chairman of the Luo Council of Elder Ker Meshack Ogalo Riaga.

The erratic ODM official who hails from Ndhiwa made a grave mistake when she severely criticized the former Nyanza PDE Mrs Roselyn Onyuka who has already declared her intention to contest the position of the Homa-Bay County Women representative in parliament. She did so despite knowing that the area is in Mr Onyuka’s stronghold and was within her family backyard.

Mrs Onyuka is a woman of high profile and respected former senior principal of the various girls high schools in the region and later served as the principal of Asumbi Teacher Training College before moving on promotion to become the Nyanza Provincial director of the Education {PDE] and recently retired as senior deputy director of the education. Upon her retirement she served as the TSC director for six years.

The attack on Mr Onyuka did not go down well with the huge crowd, which almost reacted violently against Mrs Amolo, but the situation was only claimed down due to the political magnanimity of one Herbert Ojwang’ who in the confusion amid exchange of nasty words by the women confused the matter by immediately called for Harambee donations to off-set the medical bills and other expenses. This diverted the attention of the women leaders who were increasingly becoming combative and ready to take on Mrs Amolo on a physical combat. Such ugly incidences and uncoordinated utterances by someone who claims to be close to the Odinga family did not augur well, particularly at this time when the general election is round the corner and the Prime Minister himself is embroiled in bruising election campaign.

It is imperative that people who claims to be close to the Odinga family displayed some kind of courtesy and respect toward others. They need to exercise a lot of diplomacy when handling sensitive issues.

Unconfirmed rumors and allegations making the round in Kisumu City that the former Vice Chancellor of the Maseno University Prof Fredrick Onyango, who is facing stiff challenge in his elective position as the chairman of the prestigious Nyanza Club had issued a threat by saying that once the Prime Minister Raila Odinga become the President of the Republic of Kenya, the Kisumu Asians will have to pack up and go. The former Maseno VC is said to have bragged the he was close confidant of the PM. Other reports says his defeat at the members annual meeting is inevitable due to the alleged lackluster and dismal performance to the chagrins of the members, the majority are members of the Asian business community in Kisumu.

The Nyanza Club is a private members group who conduct their own elections according to the club’s constitution and have nothing to do with communal hatred or racist sentiments as such.

In his address to the mourners Ker Meshak Riaga Ogalo had challenged politicians in Luo-Nyanza o rebrand themselves and go out flat and campaigned for Rala Odinga to realize his presidential ambition instead of engaged in petty political wrangling within the Luo-Nyanza.

It has been noted with regret that politicians in Luo-Nyanza who masquerading as being close to the Prime Minister are found of bad-mouthing those with diverse opinions. Those who disagreed with them on matters of principles within the localities are being branded as sympathizers of PNU o supporters of Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto, and yet these people are genuinely supporting Raila as their man.

One MP from greater Southern Nyanza wondered as to what criteria could be used to determine the loyalty of others to the Prime Minister? The MP who had requested for his name to remain anonymous there were many resenting voices inside Luo-Nyanza about the activities of some busy bodies purporting to be working for the PM.

“The PM is the darling of everybody in this region, but some of his so called close friends and kitchen cabinet were doing a lot of harm, which if not checked could ruin his popularity.” said the MP. Adding that may be those purporting to represent the PM may just be some irresponsible opportunists working for their own selfish interest we can’t tell.

One thing members of the Odinga family must avoid at all costs is the idea of standing and contesting almost every elective position in their locality. They should leave the field open as a level playing ground for every ODM members

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KENYA & RWANDA: AKR TO COMMEMORATE THE 1994 GENOCIDE AGAINST THE TUTSI

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From: AKR|Association of Kenyans Living in Rwanda

Dear Fellow Kenyan,

AKR has partnered with the other associations of nationals of the EAC Member states of Tanzania, Uganda and Burundi to visit Gisozi Memorial Center this coming Saturday, the 14th of April 2012 in commemoration of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi.

Members of the four associations will congregate at the petrol station next to the Library in Kacyiru (opposite the American Embassy) at 9.15 am.

The procession to Gisozi will start off at 9.45 am and commemoration events will include laying of wreaths at the Memorial Center between 11 am – 12 noon.

Kindly turn out in large numbers to mourn with our Rwandan brothers and sisters.and learn the moral lessons of genocide.

Please circulate this message widely.

KENYA: THOUSANDS OF MOURNERS GAVE A TEARFUL SENDING OFF A PROMINENT LADY FARMER IN KASIPUL-KABONDO WHO HAD PIONEERED INTO MODERN FARMING.

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Writes Bob Ndira-Uradi in Oyugis Town.

THOUSANDS of mourners on the Easter Monday gave a tearful farewell to a prominent woman farmer and church leader in Kaipul-Kabondo in Rachuonyo South district within Homa-bay County.

Mrs Dorcas Akeyo J.Oyugi-Ogot was laid to rest next to her late husband James Oyugi-Ogot near their palatial home near Mikaye market in Kakelo Location, Kasipul-Kabondo, Rachuonyo South district within Homa-Bay County.

The deceased husband the late James Oyugi Ogot, was a top educationist who rose through the ranks from a classroom teacher and retired as the District Education Office {DEO} in Siaya district about ten years ago.

The couple had pioneered into modern farming three decades ago. They introduced top grade dairy cows in their farm, which is located next to the main Oyugis- Kisumu road as early as 1967.

The couple had also pioneered into other cash crops, and for many years the farm has served as the roll model in the region. It is layout and plan was late to attract the Ministry of Agriculture and the Provincial Administration in Nyanza which on many occasions had used the farm as an Agricultural Field Day where many farmers from other parts of the greater Southern Nyanza region were invited for training on new method of farming technology and better crops husbandry.

A devoted Christian Mrs Oyugi was a staunch member of the SDA church and had acted on many occasions as the church leader, making her the most influential woman within the community.

The otherwise a solemn burial ceremony of a highly respected woman was almost marred by political confrontation between women leaders n the area who vehemently objected and protested against the derogatory remarks by the ODM Coordinator in Nyanza Mrs Monica Amolo who was engaged in sharp exchange with Ker Meshack Riga Ogalo of the Luo Council of Elders and Mrs Roselyn Onyiuka who is contesting the Homa-Bay Women representative seat.

The burial brought together the largest number of politicians in the region. Among them was the former two times MP for Karachuoyo Dr Mrs Phoebe M Asiyo, Prof Otieno Muga, the Vice Chancellor o the Great Lakes University Kisumu, the chairman of the Luo Council of Elders Ker Meshack Riaga Ogalo,former Nyanza PDE, Mrs Roselyn Onyuka who is contesting the Homa-Bay County women Representtive in Parlament, her rival for the sme position Mrs Gladys Wanga and others.

Other included several aspirants for the newly created Kasipul-Kabondo constituency, which was recently separated from the old Kasipul. They included Hebert Ojwang’ who acted as the master of ceremony, Enock Ogutu, Prof. Otieno Muga, the former MP for the old Kasipul-Kabondo William Oloo Otula, who declared to the huge crowd that he would be contesting the election in the old Kasipul constituency.

In her address Dr Mrs Asiyo advised the leaders in the region to rebrand themselves and move to the neighboring community and canvass for Raila Odinga’s presidential votes. “You should stop the petty political squabbles among yourselves to other regions to campaign for the ODM leader to realize his presidential ambition.

Ker Meshack Riaga Ogalo also gave similar advice to the mourners telling those able to move out of the region and elates well with the residents of the neighboring communities like the Kisiis, Kalenjin, Luhyia with the mission to persuade them to support Raila Odinga and the ODM to win the next general election.

The burial ceremony nearly got marred by chaos following the derogatory remarks made by the ODM Coordinator in Nyanza Mrs Monica Amolo. The mourner accused Mrs Amolo of bad mouthing other leaders, particularly when she scathingly criticized the former PDE Mrs Roselyn Onyuka who is vying for the position of the County woman representative in parliament.

The attack on high profile former PDE did not go down well in an area which is her home ground provoking strong protest by the mourners followed by wildcat calls.

Mrs Onyuka who was born in Mbita in Suba region is marred in Kasipul-Kabondo and her people had to be restrained from acting violently against Mrs Amolo, though some women were heard hurling insults to her.

In her address to the mourner Mr Onyuka narrated her past achievements during her services as the senior Principal of St. Albert Ulanda Girls High School and later how she struggled and revived the hitherto run-down Asumbi Teachers Training College and later how her position as the Nyanza PDE saw schools in the region rejuvenated and shinned again coming on top of other regions in the national exams. She received standing ovation fro the mourners who endorsed her candidature and gave her go ahead signals.

She told the mourners that she has what it takes to be called track record of achievement an diligent service to the community.

During the meeting mourners were heard blaming some vernacular FM Radio stations which some people have been frequently using to malign their perceived political opponents on patent. Other mourners were heard shouting that the CCK should investigate those station wh9ch are used by politician to slender their rivals and by engaging in destructive political propaganda. One man shouted the names of several FM Radio Station which he said were notorious for allowing sponsored propaganda materials and pack of lies saying they should be shut down b y he government unless those running them at responsibly not to allow their stations to be used a instrumental tool of distortion

The confrontation started following the remark made Prof.Muga who inadvertently referred to the Ker Meshack Riaga as the “Former Ker of the Luo Council of Elders. But Mzee Riaga in a foot-note reaction stood on his feet and protested saying that his role and status quo as the “Ker” has remained unchanged. The other Ker Opiyo Otondi, he said was make up of politicians, whereas he remained the true Ker of the Luo community until his death an that is what the Council’s constitutions says.”

The late Mrs Oyugis was the mother of Dr Kenneth Kambona a top agronomist who is the regional adviser to the UNDP and prospective contestant for the Kasipul-Kabond parliamentary seat. She left behind eight children all of them grown up.

Ends

Kenya: Power brokers are ruining the ODM chances of winning elections in Southern Nanza region

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Writes Bob Ndira-Uradi In Homa-Bay Town

The emergence of too many political power brokers gravitating around aspirants who have declared their candidature for the various elective positions within the County governance could seriously hurt the ODM gains and popularity within the greater Southern Nyanzaregion.

Residents say that there is an alarming upsurge and increase in the number of what one local MP described as “political banditry and mercenaries”

These political mercenaries have penetrated into the activities of many aspirants vying for the various elective seats such as Senate, Parliamentary, County governors and County civic wards representatives.

“These are the people responsible for chaos at public gatherings including funeral places. They have perfected in the art of minting money through peddling pack of lies with sole aims of earning free money or attracting cheap handouts from unsuspecting aspirants.

They are said to be on the running traveling all he time between Nyanza and Nairobi in search of cheap handout from the would be candidates and by doing so in the region.

These power-brokers are making the lives of the would be candidates mes arable .because this is not only extortion, but at me demanding money with menaces.

The residents have pointed out four administrative districts where the political mercenaries are said to be in full control as Migori, ndhwa, Awendo, Rongo and Kasipul Kabondo.

The brokers would be seen this week traveling in the some vehicle accompanying one aspirant to a public function, but within a week or they could be spotted boarding jumping onto the vehicle of the aspirants, depending on whose pockets are well lined up with currency notes.

And once a candidate run short of cash for handout, the mercenaries could be heard branding him as either PNU sympathizer or an agent of Uhuru Kenyatta, William to and Raphael Tuju, and what is strange that someone who has been so close to an aspirant, but only ate the company the other day after cash handout had dried up shouting at a public gathering.

Our investigations have revealed the startling and most intriguing activities of the so-called ODM power brokers. During week days, the group members are always found at the various public joins in Nairobi discussing politics the whole day while waiting for their favorable aspirants to come out of he work places and join them for the evening. At the weekend, the groups began teaming back to Nyanza were they do accompanying their favorable candidates as cheer up teams during public functions and funeral gatherings.

The next Monday the power brokers boarded country buses heading for Nairobi and only returning to Nyanza at the weekend, an yet none of them has any business or engaged on a gainful employment or business in the city.

A wealthy professional man from Nyanza who is working in Nairobi and who had made an early announcement that he would be vying for an elective position is said to have given up his original plan to contest the election after his pockets got dried up. The man’s pockets were milked to the ground forcing out of the prematurely. The would be a candidate is now said to have gone underground and even hanged all his mobile phone numbers or not answering any phone call at all from any person he suspected to be one of the power brokers an political mercenaries.

Another professional and had declared his intention to contest an elective position in Southern Nyanza is said to have lost everything including his firms offices which were closed down by troop of auctioneers. The would be a candidate for political office is also said to have lost his mortgaged house in Nairobi and he is now a tenant in one of the filthy City housing residential estates.

The ODM must also move with speed to install discipline on its officials at the branches. The same could be applied on its civic leaders at the various County Council, Town Councils and Municipalities A case in point is the deadly rumors to have been manufactured by a civic leader in Awendo town where Councilors are said to be sponsoring political goons. The hired goons go full throttle singing derogatory songs while driving through the town in a van while making slanderous remarks on a market day, when in office by the ODM if the party is serious about maintaining highly respect political movement with its disciplinary intact.

An incident which occurred last year at Kitere area of Kamagambo South in Rongo constituency where a rival leader working in cohort with other ODM sub-branch officials had hired political goons and dispatched them aboard several hired vehicles to go and physically disrupt and forcefully disperse. The incident resulted in the death of six youths who were hacked to death by the enraged villagers.

So far the hires of the close to six vehicles which ferried the deceased to their death trap have yet to be brought to book to answer the criminal charges. Nor have the drivers of the said motor vehicles been arraigned in court.

He ODM as one of the parties with the largest following in the country need to put in ace a stringent disciplinary measures aimed at deterring the money hungry political opportunists and mercenaries like party officials.

Ends

KANYA: MINISTER’S HOME PARTY MARRED BY FIST FIGHTING AS ODM DELEGATES FROM SPLINTER BRANCHES WENT FOR EACH OTHER’S THROAT

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By Bob Ndira Uradi in Bondo Town

A FIGHT broke out at the Bondo rural home of the Finance Assistant Minister Dr. Oburu Oginga in which scores of people sustained minor bodily injuries.

The gathering at the Opoda Bar Opuk rural home of Dr. Oburu Oginga who is the Bondo MP was originally intended for home-coming party meant specifically for the inauguration and endorsement of the longest serving MP’s candidature for the Siaya County Senate seat in the forthcoming general election.

ODM delegates from all the branches within the five parliamentary constituencies of Ugenya, Gem, Alego-Usonga,Bondo,Rarieda an the newly created Uganja constituency which was recently hived of the old Ugenya constituency.

Two MPs were in attendance.They were Eng.Nichola Gumbo
{Rarieda} and Edwin Ochieng’ Yinda [Alego Usonga} together with civic leaders from Bondo and Siaya County Councils. Also in attendance were civic leaders from Bondo, Yala and Ugunja Town Councils.

He gathering turned chaotic after the Siaya ODM County branch Vice chairman Akelo Gwela who was acting as the master of ceremony called and recognized the presence of party delegation from Rarieda constituency. Another delegation of a splinter party branch stood up and insisted that they were de facto delegation and that those whose names had been called were fake and not genuinely elected pay officials.

The group insisted that they must be allowed an opportunity to address the gathering. Gwela was caught up in a catch situation and pleaded with the delegation to be patient and wait patiently as time will come when they will be called to speak. But members of the splinter delegation cold not hear of this and it was at this juncture when things broke loose. The delegates went for each other throat in a free-for-all which lasted for close to 40 minutes.

Other delegates too to their heels and scampered for safety as the puzzled Minister and the two other MPs watched in disbelief of their eyes.

Rarieda MP Eng Nicholas Gumbo too to the podium and started chanting ODM slogans, asking the rowdy party members to calm own.”This is the County in this country which is expected to produce the next President of the Republic of Kenya and therefore we must set good example and cannot afford to fight in this home.”, the MP shouted the loudest.

But the combatants could not hear of this. However, most of them took the MP words serious and slowly calmed down. After Eng Gumbo pleas the fighting stopped.

Chairs flew up across the tent whole tables were turned upside down and used as shield during the melee. The fighting rages on as members of the public fled in all directions.

The seemingly puzzled and shocked Dr. Oburu Oginga took over the microphone and try to appeal for calm in vain. “ I am appealing to you not to embarrass me and my family in my home. I had invited you to come and feast not to fight each other,” Dr Oburu pleaded, but no one heeded his pleas.

Source confided to us that the source of discontent was the leakage made in certain quarters that Dr.Oburu Oginga who has represented the Bondo constituency ever since the death of his father the late freedom fighter Jaramogi Oginga Odinga in 1994 has switched to contest the Senate seat, but it is rumored that the same Odinga family has secretly earmarked one of their own to replace him as the MP for the area in what like the dynastic politics.

In the same rumor it is said that a Mr Ogutu Jaoko who is the national treasurer of COTU{K} is the one tipped by the Odinga family to contest for the Bondo seat. Ogutu is a close member of the same Odingas family. But other rumors’ making the round says that Mrs Ida Raila Odinga would be the one to being fronted by the family to succeed her brother-in-law.

There is a strong feeling among the electorate in Bondo that t was time someone else from another clan and community be chosen to represent the constituency which ha remained the exclusively the preserves of the Odinga family dynasty ever since its inception in 1963.

Bondo constituency is inhabited by people of diverse sub-clans, the Jo-Yimbo from Usenge and Usigu Divisions being the second largest sub-clan, but with others like Jo-Kagwa and several; smaller immigrant sub-clans, there is, however, a strong common feeling is that if Dr. Oburu Oginga has voluntarily chosen to relinquish the seat and go a notch higher by contesting the Senate seat, someone from Yimbo should be allowed to contest the seat in rotation basis as one way of protecting the minority group’s rights of representation.

ODM members in the entire Luo-Nyanza are unanimous that the party leader Raila Amolo Odinga should be voted in to realize his presidential ambition. However, the community is not comfortable with another of the Odingas contesting any other elective position in the region apart from Raila an his elder brother Dr.Oburu Oginga.

The other information making the round that Raila’s youngest sister Ruth Adhiambo who is the managing director of the family business flag the Spectre International, which is managing the Kisumu Molasses would be running for the Kisumu County governor position is not well received. It is viewed in the context that the Odingas are greedy people who wanted to control almost every senior political position in the region. Adhiambo’s candidature is strongly being resisted by the indignants resident of Kisumu County who consider her as an outsider.

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Sacking Of Balala Was Long Overdue

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From: Lee Makwiny

Sacking Of Balala Was Long Overdue .
Thursday, 29 March 2012 00:05 BY DAVID MAKALI

Najib Balala must rue the day he challenged ODM party leader and Prime Minister Raila Odinga. He now finds himself in limbo after being dismissed from Cabinet on Monday, which he unfortunately blamed on dictatorship. I disagree.

For the past three years, Balala’s political star has been fading as steadily as his virulent attacks on Mr Odinga have increased. His determination to wreck the party on which he was elected to Parliament was shocking. So was his apparent disdain for the party leader whom he liberally vilified and taunted. The streak of unprovoked verbal assaults on Raila was offensive to common decency and the decorum expected of a senior party member. It also flouted the official etiquette of collective government responsibility.

We cannot pretend to know the genesis of his gripe but it is curious that Balala found it heroic to disparage his party boss in public. Or expect to continue enjoying the privilege of his ministerial position courtesy of a party he had all but abandoned. That is legitimizing political immorality and encouraging impunity.

It is ok for one to hold a different opinion from the party’s or even the party leader’s. Democracy implies freedom of opinion and robust expression of divergent views. It presupposes consensus and open deliberation of contentious issues where the majority holds sway but the minority have a say. Democracy abhors monolithic thinking or coercion.

I believe this environment exists within the ODM party, even in its imperfect state. As a founder and high-ranking member, Balala was expected to use the party mechanisms to iron out his grievances. But he opted to become a reckless megaphone of bad publicity through ceaseless accusation of his own party leader as a dictator, without offering any details.

Whether he was doing so to endear himself to the party’s opponents or to set himself up for the next suitor will soon become clear. But it is obvious that the G7 group he flirted with for a while did not find much political value in him. His support base is at it shakiest and it is looking unlikely that Balala can withstand a strong opponent for Mvita constituency, let along the Mombasa Senator’s seat. In the last election, it was the combination of his own support and the euphoric following of ODM and Raila in urban Mombasa that overcame the spirited challenge from Ali Taib.

Now largely on his own, having lost favor with the Coast Parliamentary Group, Balala is like a ship sailing without a compass. His threats to form a party, which he said last week will be launched soon, is nothing new; many are out there yawning for members and leadership. He should hurry up and take over one to prove his mettle as a leader. I doubt it will be free from the worst of the very criticism he has leveled against his current party.

The propensity of the current crop of politicians for muckraking is undermining democratisation. Public dissent and promiscuous political behavior has become heroic because there are no sanctions. Politicians continue to flirt with and jump in and out of parties like Matatus without regard to the Political Parties Act. Defying the party leadership has become a short cut to fame and partisan adulation. If this profligacy and indiscipline is to stretch to the rest of society what nation shall we have?

Sympathetic protests will follow Balala’s dismissal. He will deplore his punishment as intolerance to criticism. He is entitled to feel bitter and betrayed. But that must not blind us from the true cause of his firing. Tying his fate to the fortunes of his religious community is patently misguided propaganda. He was not a representative of Muslims in the Cabinet or elected to represent a religious constituency, which is expressly prohibited by the constitution.

Mr Balala joins a phalanx of fallen ministers who have served in the Grand Coalition but miscalculated their steps. Their common denominator is a virulent bout of vainglorious self-deception. Once appointed, they forget such basic things as the real source of power and create illusory thrones in the air on which they perch to satisfy their egos. Soon, they begin to stray. For Balala, it is unclear what his defiance was all about. A core member of the Pentagon, he always enjoyed chummy relations with party leader/Captain Raila Odinga. He began to grumble when Raila declined to back him in the party elections in 2008, which saw Balala’s arch foe, Ali Hassan Joho, grab the organizing secretary post.

A grumpy Balala then began gravitating towards the PNU side of the coalition government. He was on hand to receive Sudanese President Omar Al Bashir at the promulgation of the new Constitution. That oblivious of his party leader’s stated opposition or even prior knowledge of it. By dint of his Arabic connection, Balala again accompanied Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka on the shuttle diplomacy to lobby then Libyan leader Muamar Gaddaffi to sway the African Union in efforts to defer Kenya’s case at the ICC.

It is this streak of open defiance and loud dissent, more than his performance as Minister for Tourism, that accounts for his fall. Although he was the critical ODM link to the Muslim vote in 2007, the sour relations had become more politically costly than beneficial to Raila. His exit has become necessary for order and proper functioning of the party. The moral: discipline is essential to good leadership as much as performance.

http://www.the-star.co.ke/opinions/david-makali/69013-sacking-of-balala-was-long-overdue

Kenya: ODM faces disintegration in Southern Nyanza following inter-clans rivalries and false manoeuvres by MPs

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News Analysis By Bob Ndira Uradi In Homa-Bay Town
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The Orange Democratic Movement {ODM} is facing lean time as its popularity is facing litmus test in the greater Southern Nyanza region triggered by the reported inter-clans rivalries.

The discontent is showing its ugly head between the indignant communities and the immigrant sub-clans whose original homes could be traced in Siaya County, but who migrated to Southern Nyanza and settled in various locations within the region.

And such conflict of diverse interests and inter-clans differences are allegedly fanned by the local MPs who belong to the immigrant sub-clans who crossed the Lake Victoria from Siaya in search of arable land and settled in the region at the turn of the 20th century.

The two MPs who are members of the immigrant sub-clans include Martin Otieno Ogindo, whose family migrated from Asembo Location in Rarieda district within Siaya County. The MPs settled in Central Kanyada Location.

The other MP who is the son of an immigrant sub-clan is Gerald Otieno Kajwang’,is the Mbita MP Gerald Otieno Kajwang’ whose Waondo minority sub-clan is also reported to have migrated from Asembo in Rarieda district, also within Siaya County. The Waondo sub-clan settled in what used to be Mbita district among the majority Suba people.

The leader from the indignant sub-clans now claims that MPs from the immigrant sub-clans who claims to be the most trusted confidants of the Prime Minister Raila Odinga have the ulterior motive and secret scheme to dominate the indignant people of the region.

Also categorized as falling in the same cartel is the self-styled ODM coordinator in Nyanza Mrs Monica Amolo who also hails from Kanyikela/Asembo sub-clan in Ndhiwa district. Is also being accused of collaborating with the two MPs to undermine the local indignant leadership.

Mrs Amolo is claiming to be the confidant of Mrs Ida Odinga and the gem MP Jakoyo Midiwo who is Raila’s maternal cousin. Her role in the party is to undercut and undermine the abrasive Ndhiwa MP Orwa Ojode who has flatly refused to be dragged into vicious political manipulations being exercised in the region by people from Siaya.

During the recently concluded, but much flawed ODM grass root elections in Homa-Bay County, Kajwang was elected the party chairman in the County branch by consensus and not through the balloting. Hon Ogindo was also elected to the office in the same fashion an so was Mrs Monica Amolo.

But immediately after the conclusion of the trio allegedly embarked in changing and replacing the names of those who were elected along with them with their own political cronies.

George Ner from Kagan who had been elected to head the Rangwe sub-branch had his name changed and replaced by one Opondo Kaluma from Kanyada.

The name of the former Rangwe MP Eng.Phillip Okundi who is now there chairman of the ODM electoral board and who was named as a delegate in the Rangwe sub-branch had his name removed and replaced by that of Odhiambo Rare from Kochia.

In Rongo district the same group is said to be fighting the are MP Dalmas Otieno the man who is credited as performing diligently in both the cabinet as the Minister for Public Servants and within the ODM is always being branded as a KANU mole in the party and he is being fought let, right and center.

The group is also allegedly targeting the populist and highly respected former Nyanza PDE Mrs Roselyn Onyuka who has declared her interest in contesting the Homa-Bay County Women Representative and whose records of sterling service to the people is unequaled.Onyuka has the highest profile of leadership and recognized as a workaholic person who is an achiever..

In Ndhiwa district, the hardworking MP Joshua Orwa Ojode is being fought by the same cartel which is branding him as a sympathizer of the PNU? This assertion not based on truth, but simply on falsified assumption because Ojode is working in the same Ministry with Prof. George Saitoti who heads the PNU.

Ojode being tired with the kind of political intrigue has since broken the rank with the Prime Minister and has kept away not to e seen in any official function officiated by the Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

During the public hearing conducted by the Independent Electoral and Boundary Commission at Homa-Bay member of the Suba Community from two constituencies whose inhabitants are the majority people of Suba origin had petitioned the IEBC and requested that the names of the two districts of Gwassi and Mbita be changed to Suba South and Suba North. The request was granted, but the Mbita MP came out spitting fire saying that such name could only be changed over his dead body.

The MP who is also the Immigration and Registration of Persons has since hired his own younger brother who is a lawyer of the High Court to institute legal action against the IEBC.

A legal suit is now pending in court in which the MP working through a local civic leader from Rusinga Island is the plaintiff. However, elders from Suba region who had requested for the changes of names of the two constituencies have vowed that they will be in court as the IEBC witnesses when the case come up for hearing.

These political maneuvers by people who claims to be the closes advisers of the Prime Minister is tearing the ODM into pieces, and the party hitherto supremacy in Southern Nyanza is fast evaporating.

Local indignant now feel the Prime Minister is exporting the Siaya brand of politics into Southern Nyanza by way of using his trusted lieutenants in coercing the local leaders into succumbing to the divide and rule policy.

Those allegedly targeted for possible sidelining included the abrasive Nyatike MP Edick Omondi Anyanga, Migori MP John Pesa, Rongo MP Dalmas Otieno and Karachuonyo MP Eng Jame Rege.

The MPs who have been classified as the alleged collaborators of the Siaya cartel included Kasipul Kabondo MP Joseph Oyugi Maguwanga, Gwassi M John Mbadi and Uriri MP Cyprian Ojwang’Omolo. A candidate aspiring for the Homa-Bay governor’s position Cyprian Otieno Awiti is also reported to be playing in the same league with Siaya agents out to exercise their external political supremacy against the indigenous people of Southern Nyanza.

The group it is further being alleged is working under the supervision of Raila Odinga’s elder brother Dr. Oburu Oginga who is the Bondo MP and who is said to be the group’s godfather. The main aim and objective is to have people elected in various position of governance within the counties, Senate and parliament who could toe the lines, and such must be vetted by agents whose loyalties to Raila are unquestionable. Independent minded politician with diverse of opinion stands no chance of clinching ODM ticket to contest the elections in various constituencies in the next general election, even if they could sail through the preliminaries, they would be eventually rigged out and replaced others.

Another immigrant politician whose original home is in Alego Mur in Siaya County who is also suspected to be working in cohort with the group has launched an elaborate campaign to be elected the first Senator for Migori County. He was the once two time Homa-Bay MP Phares Oluoch Kanindo who sat in the August House for close to ten years, but left without uttering even one single word.

Kanindo is involved in serious competitive politics with the academic giants such as Prof. Edward Oyugi Akong’o, former Mathari MP Gilbert Ochieng’ Mbeo and others.

Dr Oburu Oginga, however, could not be reached to deny or confirm the allegation. He was reported to have traveled abroad on government official duties.

The immigrant groups are loosely referred to in Dho- Luo derogatory terminology as “Jodak, Onyalo Biro or Ojuwando” and the rumor making the round is that the group has vowed not to allow anyone who is working independently to win any elective post in the region unless he is allied to the Siaya agents.

Local pundits are quick in pointing out that for the first time the ODM would lose a number of parliamentary and civic seats to other parties unless Raila Odinga himself intervened in time and tell the so called Siaya agents to leave the party members and leers in the region alone to chart their own destiny. People in this region are so much disgusted with these kind of unbecoming political maneuvers.

Ends

Kenya: Omondi Odinga half brother of Raila joined the Race On a different Party ticket……

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From: Judy Miriga

Folks,

This is a very interesting piece of political dimension taking place in Luo Nyanza inside the Odinga family.

However, it remains democratic politics catching up in a New Nyanza and I believe it is healthy.

Judy Miriga
Diaspora Spokesperson
Executive Director
Confederation Council Foundation for Africa Inc.,
USA
http://socioeconomicforum50.blogspot.com

– – — – – – – – – –

Omondi Odinga half brother of Raila joined the Race On a different Party ticket

Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s step brother has seemingly broken ranks with his family and decided to invite his brother’s political rivals, Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto to their home in Bondo. Raila’s step brother Isaac Omondi Odinga told the Star yesterday that he had invited the two leaders to the Odinga home in Bondo to help in a fund raising event scheduled for April 6 in aid of Omondi’s election campaign kitty.

Omondi, who is the councillor of Milimani ward in Kisumu has also declared his intention to challenge another half brother, Raila’s elder brother Oburu Odinga in the Bondo parliamentary race.

Oburu, who is an assistant Finance minister has represented Bondo since 1994 when he succeeded his father, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, who died two years after he was elected to Parliament. The late Jaramogi had represented the constituency from Independence until 1969 when he was detained by the Kenyatta government.

Omondi is the first born son of Jaramogi’s third wife Susan Agik Odinga who runs a tailoring businesswoman in Kisumu. Jaramogi was polygamous and had four wives— Mary Juma, Gaudencia Adeya, Susan Agik and Betty Adongo. With these wives he had seventeen children. Mary is the mother of Raila and Oburu and died in 1984. “There is nothing wrong with Uhuru and Ruto coming to Bondo. My decision to invite them is in good faith and I’m sure my brothers will also attend the function,” said Omondi.

Yesterday, Oburu, who is the Jaramogi family spokesman by virtue of being the eldest son, could not be reached for comments as he was away in the UK. However, his younger sister Ruth Odinga was quick to dismiss the planned funds drive by Omondi saying it was ‘political.’ “It is unfortunate that the media is asking me about our brother’s planned harambee even before he tells the family. I want to say that the move is political and l advise my brother to be wary of politicians out to use him and dump him later,” she said.

Raila’s director of communications Dennis Onyango declined to comment on the scheduled harambee at the Odinga home. Raila’s cousin who is ODM’s Chief Whip Jakoyo Midiwo described the invitation as a ‘welcome move.’ “Ruto and Uhuru have freedom of movement and they are free to come to Kisumu for any occasion. Omondi equally enjoys freedom of association and can therefore associate with anybody regardless of party affiliation,” said Midiwo who is the MP for Gem.

Uhuru and Ruto have been exchanging bitter words after Raila said the two should be in prison for crimes against humanity charges they are facing at the International Criminal Court instead of criss crossing the country attending prayer rallies. Yesterday, the two leaders addressed yet another prayer meeting at Kitale where they repeated their allegations against Raila and accused him of being ‘dishonest.’ Omondi is known to be a lone ranger in the Odinga family and pointedly refused to back the election of Kisumu mayor Sam Okello whom Raila endorsed. Omondi instead campaigned for James Oyolo who lost the election.

Apart from Uhuru and Ruto, other politicians invited to the funds drive by Omondi include Makadara MP Mike Sonko, Eugene Wamalwa of Saboti and Linah Jebii Kilimo of Marakwet East. The three have confirmed they will attend the function. Omondi was confident that the other invitees will also attend the function which will be held at Jaramogi’s Milimani home and whose chief guest will be Ruto.Omondi promised to make a ‘big announcement’ during the event.

Speaking from Kitale where he was attending the prayer rally, Cherangany MP Joshua Kuttuny who is a staunch Ruto ally confirmed that Uhuru and Ruto will attend the fund raiser. He said the fund raising event will be held a few days before the leaders visit Kisumu for another scheduled prayer rally. “People should not think that we lack supporters in Kisumu. For those who have thought that we cannot penetrate Luo Nyanza region I think it is now evident that we have not only got support from the community but Raila’s family itself,” said Kutuny

Jaramogi’s Milimani home was a beehive of activity as arrangements for the fund raiser began in earnest after Omondi received confirmation from his invited guests that they would attend the function. On hand to help Omondi with the arrangements was United Republican Party activist George Ayugi alias Mbuta who has twice hosted party leader William Ruto in Kisumu. “This is the kind of democracy that all regions must now embrace. The culture where some leaders were not allowed to visit certain regions is long gone and we should welcome one another,” said Ayugi.

Bondo Town Council chairman Henry Ondeje described Omondi as a ‘political opportunist’ who wanted to capitalize on the falling out of Raila and Ruto for his own selfish gain. “It is unfortunate that instead of concentrating on developing his ward, he is looking for opportunities to make money for his own benefit,” added Ondeje.

A close ally of Omondi and Nyalenda ward councillor Jackton Onunga said he surprised by Omondi’s decision. “I think he needs prayers because what is transpiring is not normal,” he said about Omondi’s plan to hold the harambee. Kisumu County inter-party youth forum coordinator Noah Olwero said it was a welcome move and was an “evident sign of democracy at work.”

MUDAVADI; it is rumored is Moi’s newest project for the year 2012 presidential race

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Report By Bob Ndira Uradi in Kericho Town
.
RUMOURS and speculations making the round in this tea land town that the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Local Government Wycliffe Musalia Mudavadi is the newest project of the retired President Daniel Arap Moi.

Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta was Moi’s project in the 2002 general election as his anointed successor to the presidency, but was roundly rejected by his Kalenjin voters. The latter was the son of the Moi’s own political mentor, the founding President the late Mzee Jomo Kenyatta and therefore was part of his grand scheme for political dynasty in Kenya.

These rumors and speculations, however, the remotest as they are for now, could be somehow credible judging from the sudden change of hearts by many people in this region towards the ODM deputy leader by many Kalenjin, particularly members of the populous Kipsigis community.

The Kipsigis is a sub-tribe of the larger Kalenjn ethnic groups. Its members occupied the votes rich region comprising of Kericho and Bomet Counties, But members of the same community also have a strong presence in the diaspora districts and constituencies such as Trans-Mara, Kuresoi, Molo, Nakuru, Koibatek,Rongai, Tinderet, Nandi Hills .Aldai, Narok North and Narok West and Cherangany.

In the general elections of the year 2007, the community voted for the ODM and the Prime minister Raila Odinga on a man-to-man, and out of its close to 1.3 million votes, the latter is believed to have garnered about 85 per cent, Thus was so despite of the strong anti-Odinga campaign by the retired President Daniel Arap Moi, the self-styled professor of Kenya’s politics whose word is counting a lot among members of this particular community.

Thanks to the strong and tireless campaign efforts mounted by prominent and senior members of this community who included the former Deputy Chief of Staff of the combined armed forces of Kenya Lt.Gen.{rtd} John Arap Koech, the populist and then political kingpin of the community, the Late Donald Kipkalia Kones and his boyhood friend Franklin Bett {now the Minister for Roads, the late Lorna Laboso, the first single and unmarried woman to win a parliamentary seat in a rural constituency inside the Kipsigis reserved land.

It is also worthwhile to mention the names of the younger generation of politicians in the region who played the pivotal role in popularizing the ODM in the 2007 general elections which saw Raila Odinga sweeping the board in the presidential race against President Mwai Kibaki .They included the youthful politicians like Magerer Lang’at, the late David Too, Dr Julius Kones, William {Chemosit} Arap Kettienya and others and to a lesser extent Charles Keter Donald Ng’eny.Nicholas Tum and others.

It became obvious that the community had risen up against the former strongman Daniel Arap Moi and voted for the man whom he hates most, Raila Odinga.

However, the latest rumors and speculations making the round in this region is that Moi and others have hatched the plan to rock the boat of the Orange Democratic Movement {ODM} and scuttle the presidential ambition of its leader Raila Amolo Odinga by the alleged scheme of secretly sponsoring and bankrolling Mudavadi to divide and weaken the ODM thereby split the bins for “Agwambo” before he finally ditched the ODM for the prior arrangement for his soft landing into KANU.

Sources close to KANU in Kericho have revealed that there several options. The first option is for Mudavadi to go into full length in challenging Raila Odinga in the party’s presidential nomination, if he succeeds in dethroning Odinga and become the ODM torch-bearer in the next general elections, then KANU would automatically merge or form a loose alliance with the ODM. And in such political scenario, Moi’s favored son Gideon would be Mudavadis running-mate. But before this the current national chairman of KANU Uhuru Kenyatta would be edged out of the party leadership within the next two months.

Proponents of this idea have the Kalenjin votes in mind. They fear that the G47 alliance that would see Uhru Kenyatta contesting the presidential election with the Eldoret North MP William Ruto as his running mate would scare away the Kipsigis votes. This particular community has the history of single handedly having fought so many tribal wars against their Kikuyu neighbors ever since 1992. And therefore the Kipsigis voters might not be comfortable voting for another Kikuyu president in the near future.

Political pundits among this community were quick in saying that although the community loves the Eldoret North MP William Ruto, there are strong discontent and dissenting views about his close political association with Kenyatta. These were some of the reasons why this particular community had rejected Uhuru Kenyatta’s presidential bid in 2002 despite the strong and well elaborate campaign mounted for him in the region by the retired President Moi, who even went out of hand using the government resources and facilities in a well orchestrated campaign, but could not succeed in selling Uhuru Kenyatta to the Kipsigis voters And Moi is said to be very much aware of the inner feeling of the community

Moi is also reported by other unconfirmed reports making the round in this region to have advised his group not to spend the election resources while trying to lure the Luo voters to their side, arguing that the Luos are the most unreliable lots when it come to question of who to vote for, they will always troop up behind Raila Odinga after squandering such resources, therefore it would be a waste of time and energy, according to his past experience.

Kisiis and Luhyias voters are venerable voters in Western Kenya who could easily be manipulated with cash hand outs and other niceties. Experts in the anti-Raila groups have therefore directed Mudavadi’s campaigners to target the Kisiis and Luhiyas.

It says that the Sabatia MP has plan A and B, The plan A involved his aggressive campaign for the ODM presidential ticket, but in the event of his failure to win the party ticket against his , boss, the DPM would ditch the ODM and cross over to KANU.

Plan B is that he is the preferable KANU/PNU alternative candidate in the event of Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto being prevented by the law from contesting the presidency due to the ICC cases facing them at the Hague Mudavadi would then be the most favored presidential candidate for the combined parties like PNU, URP, WPK and KANU with Moi’s favorable son Gideon Moi as his running mate.

A number of political personalities in Kericho who spoke to this write and requested that their names should not be published for fear of reprisals said the campaign for Mudavadi’s presidential bid has begun in earnest.

It I being alleged that Moi is the one who is bankrolling Mudavadi’s campaign kitty, The retired President according to sources is not comfortable with Raila nor is he in favor of the Eldoret North MP William Samoei Ruto. He has yet to forgiven the two for having been instrumental for his election defeat in 2002, which brought KANU regime to an abrupt end after close to 40 years of uninterrupted rule.

The link between the Mudavadis and the Mois is dating back close to 65 years ago. It started in 1954 when Mudavadi’s father the late Moses Sabstian Budamba Mudavadi was working in the North Rift, first as a teacher and later as an Assistant Education Officer {AEO} and later as the District Education Officer{DEO}, while Daniel Toroitich Arap Moi was the head teacher at the various primary schools in the region and later at Tambach Teachers Training College in Baringo.

Mi by then was the darling of the African Inland Mission {AIM} now African Inland Church {AIC}and the then White Missionaries highly recommended him in the support of Mr Moses Mudavadi, and that is how the self-proclaimed professor of Kenya’s politics entered into politics. He succeeded John Ole Tameno who had voluntary resigned in huff from the colonial Legislative Council.

But in the first election of the eight African elected members of the Colonial Legislative Council in March 1957, Moi won the election as the representative of the entire Rift Valley Province. Earlier in 1948 the colonial government had nominated the late John Chemallan from the Nandi sub-tribe as the first black Legco member for the Rift Valley, while Eliud Wambu Mthu represented the entire Central Province and Nairobi, Mr Beneah Apollo Ohanga a Lup from Gem represented Western Kenya and Jimmy Jeremiah represented the Coast. But in 1952, the son of the late E-Senior Chief of Bureti the late Cheborge ArapTengecha, the late Francis Chuma was also nominated in the Colonial Legislative, but he only served beefy.

The common saying among the Kipsigis people is that it is a repaying time for Moi to help the son of his friend and brother-n-law Moses Mudavadi to become the fourth President of the Republic of Kenya. He previously appointed Mudvadi to the key Ministerial slot of the Minister for Finance and later the Vice President in which the latter had briefly prior to the 2002 general election appointed Mudavadi his Vice President before the last KANU regime was ousted out of power in 2002.

It could be remembered that that Moi association with Mudvadi’s father is dating back to the years 1950s while both were teachers in the North Rift.

It was during this period of time when the colonial administration sought for an intelligent and well educated African in the region who could be fit to be recommended for the nomination to the colonial Legislative Council. Mudavadi was tipped for the job, but instead he recommended Daniel Arap Moi for the job instead of clinching it for himself. The late Muadavadi also was married to a Tugen woman who is a close relative of the Mois. Thus, this was the beginning of the cementing down the relationship that ha survived for over 60 years.

The late Moses Mudavadi served in the Moi’s cabinet in senior ministerial positions of Education and later in the Local Government and had become the most powerful member of the cabinet from Western Kenya. At one time hr served as the Secretary-General of the ruling KANU party after succeeding the late Robert S.Matano.

Taking all these into account, It Is indeed therefore prudent that the rumor about Moi’s covertly involvement in the alleged support or Mudavadi to break the back-born of Raila Odinga’s ODM in the same fashion the latter had succeeded in dismantling Moi’s KANU last regime in 2002 cannot be ruled out.

In order to survive this onslaught on ODM Raila and his lieutenants must pull up their sacks and put in place the most effective plans to effectively and elaborate counter checks. At the moment the ODM is still very safe in Western Province, but not so safe in the South Rift and Kisii regions. The party needs to do a lot of home work in order to regain its lost past glory in the two regions.

It must recruit and groom the most credible individual political personalities to serve as a back-up teams to supplement the services now being rendered by the likes of Franklin Bett, Magerer Lang’a, Madam Beatrice Kones, Madam Joyce Laboso and others. It must shop for strong and credible people in the two regions.

The young Mudavadi had served under the Moi Presidency and was his last Vice President in 2002 when KANU lost power to the amalgamated parties, which grouped under the umbrella of charity Ngilu’s NARC. I regrouped former Moi’s trusted lieutenants and KANU stalwarts like Prof.Geore Saitoti, Charity Ngilu,Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka, Moody Awuori, Raila Odinga, Najib Balala and others.

The group handed a devastating defeat to Moi’s preferable KANU presidential candidate Uhuru Kenyatta and helped President Mwai Kibaki win the presidency.

The name of Musalia Mudavadi is being mentioned in almost every village in both Kericho and Bomet Counties as the next President of the Republic of Kenya. Members of this community, however, are openly saying they wouldn’t be happy with the another Kikuyu president taking into considerations that this is the Kalenjin sub-tribe which has fought the fiercest tribal skirmishes against other communities.