Writes Leo Odera Omolo

The ODM party youths were advised at the weekend to respect all the elected leaders, and at the same time engaged themselves on gainful occupation instead of being hired by politicians like mercenaries for the purpose of heckling their perceived opponents.

This is because the youths plays a pivotal part in promoting the party’s development agenda and therefore must work hard in promoting the presidential ambition of the party leader Raila Odinga comes 2012.

The remarks were made by the youth coordinator in Nyanza Hilary Ochieng’ Alila when he addressed hund4ed of mourners during the burial of the late Geore Otieno, the ODM youth leader in Rangwe. He was buried at his parents homestead in Kagan-Gondo in Homa Bay district within.

The late Otieno died after a short illness two weeks ago. Among the mourners was the Rangwe MP Martin Ot9eno Ogindo, the ODM regional coordinator Mrs Monica Amolo, the entire civic leadership in Homa-Bay Township headed by the Mayor and his deputy.

Alila, who is contesting the position of the Homa Bay County Senator created by the new constitutional dispensation, advised the youths to stop being idle and engaged in non-gainful activities such as heckling leaders at public rallies and other unbecoming behavior which are prejudicial to political stability if the country and peaceful co-existence of all Kenyan.

He advised the youths present at the funeral to emulate the example of the late Otieno that of selfishness and true patriotism.

He said the impending party grass root election would be free for all those who wished to contest the elective position within the party hierarchy, but reminded the mourners that respect was a two way

This was the first time in the Kagan-Gongo area for members of the public to come face to face with those aspirants who have declared their interest in the regional governance such as Senate, governor and other senior slots. The Rangwe MP Otieno Ogindo is said to be keen in contesting the position of the County governor against his arch-political rival Eng.Okundi who is also in the race for the same post. But he did not speak about his candidature at the gathering and only called for peaceful party elections.

Mrs Amolo said she would contest one of the top positions in the ODM Homa-Bay County branch. But she did not specify as to which seat she would contest.

It was Alila who was the center of attraction at the venue, because of the presence of hundreds of youths, who cheered up continuously. He told the leaders to preach the gospel of love and unity all the time.

Meanwhile reports’ emerging from Kendu-Bay Town in Rachuonyo North district says that a group of drunken youths had tried to disrupt a meeting of about 300 women at Kendu-Bay Town, but were repulsed by youth allied to the area MP Eng. James Rege.

The youth suspected to be the supporters of one aspirant for a top position in Homa-Bay County shouted and tried to disrupt the women’s meeting.

The area MP Eng. Rege strongly condemned whoever was behind an attempt by the drunken youth to disrupt the women meeting saying that freedom of association including that of meetings is no negotiable. Because it is well ent5enchedin the constitution. Using youth to disrupt other people meeting is tantamount a breach of peace. It is mockery of the tenets of democratic principles.

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Writes Leo Odera Omolo In Homa-Bay Town.

Eng Phillip Okoth Okundi, the current chairman of the ODM election board, appeared to have taken the early lead in the forthcoming contest for the powerful position of the Homa-Bay County governor.

Eng Okundi, the immediate former Rangwe MP who is also the chairman of the Communication Council of Kenya, hails from Kochia West Location in the present Rangwe constituency, but his influence appeared to have evenly spread all over the six parliamentary constituencies of Mbita, Gwassi, Ndhiwa, Rangwe, Karachuoyo and Kasipul-Kabondo.

Okundi has vast training and skills in communication technology on top of his ministerial experience in public affairs. This has convinced many people in the region that he would be right person for the job of governor who could handle the region’s enormous natural resources with extra care.

Okundi’s popularity is buoyed by the fact that he had many years’ wealth of experience in the administration of public affairs dating back to his days as the deputy managing director of the defunct East African Posts and Telecommunications, and later the Kenya Posts and Telecommunications Corporation.

Upon leaving the Kenya Posts and Telecommunications, Eng.Okundi landed the most lucrative jobs of being the managing director of the Kenya Ports Authority {KPA} which he rescued from the possible verge of total collapse and turned the KPA to be one of the most vibrant quasi-government organizations.

He was later moved to the position of the managing director of the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation {KBC} and eventually landed the other senior position of the managing director of the Kenya Bureau of the Standards.

In the year 2002, Eng Okundi ventured into parliamentary politics and won the Rangwe seat with an overwhelming majority on the LDP ticket. But he lost the same seat in the controversial and violence marred 2007 general election to a political novice in the name of Martin Otieno Ogindo, the colorless incumbent Rangwe MP who has also since reportedly switched his politics from parliament o the position of governor under the new constitutional dispensation.

Eng Okundi’s main challenger for the same position is the former Marie Stoppie Country director, Cyprian Otieno Awiti, from East Karachuoyo in the North Rachuonyo district. Awiti’s managerial experience, however, is said to be rather inferior to that of Eng. Okundi. He had only served as the Principal of the Railway Training School before joining the Marie Stoppie Clinics an International NGO, which he has since left in unclear and unexplained circumstances.

The other credible challenger is Dr. Mark Matunga from Mfangano Island in the Suba district of Mbita.

Matunga is a senior technical representative if the Microsoft Computer International serving the company in close to 15 African countries in the south, east and west .But his experience in managerial skills involved the larger organization dealing with the public affairs is unknown quality.

Other contestants for the same position include Prof Joseph Akeyo of the Physics department of the Maseno University who hails from Wagwe Location in Central Karachuoyo. Prof Akeyo might have excelled in his academic performance However; his managerial experience in managing such a large quasi government organization like the County of Homa-Bay is still questionable.

Other names being mentioned as possible contestants in the same position of Homa-Bay County governor is a retired civil servant Opiata Ogada from Rusinga Island who is also a perennial parliamentary election loser in Mbita constituency.

The electorate, however, doubts Ogada’s ability to manage the largest County like that one of Homa-Bay and dismisses his candidature as a “big political joke”.

The common saying is that Homa-Bay County, which is likely to be the largest in the region with a total of seven parliamentary constituencies well spread from Sondu in Kabondo East to Mfangano Island and covering Gwassi and Ndhiwa district would pose a big challenge to whoever will be elected its governor.

This is where Okundi’s wealth of experience comes in. The common saying is that its other challenges would be how to source extra finances from other external sources not only from Central Government, which will come in the form of an annual grant not exceeding Kshs 3 millions.

Whereas other contestants have been paying extravagantly local musicians to popularize their candidatures. Eng.Okundi is being credited for having created many jobs in his business flagship, the Asego Holdings, which is involved in real estate, cotton ginning and other businesses both locally and in Nairobi. He is also credited of being one of the top Luo business executives and investor.

Okundi’s other credibility, which gives him extra political mileage against his opponents, is that apart from his excellence educational and academic background, he has a love for education. He personally owns a private Ombogo Girls Secondary School in Kochiai West had excelled in last years Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education national exam being placed 95 overall of the 100 schools with the best performance in the whole country.

Okundi is one of the most loyalists’ lieutenants as well as confidants of the ODM party leader and the Prime Minister for Kenya Raila Amolo Odinga. He is a moderate politician who has the interest of all Kenyans at heart and a man committed to the real task of nation building. And that is why he had chosen to revive the hitherto collapse cotton farming in the region when his company acquired the two Cotton Ginneries at Homa-0Bay and at Kendu-Bay through a public auction a couple of years ago. Cotton is one of the most lucrative cash crops, but it was killed by excessive looting through the various primary farmers co-operative societies which did not bothered to pay the farmers their dues.

Okundi’s strength and popularity lies on his ability to win massive support in Western Kasipul Locations of Kodera and Kotieno locations as well as Kachien, and some parts of Western, Central and Southern Karachuonyo locations. This is at the expense of Cyprian Awiti who is an indignant man from the Karachuoyo groups, and who is currently experiencing vehement opposition from within Central, South and Western Karachuonyo. Awiti is, however, popular in Kasipul Kabondo, particularly in Oyugis area,

Residents of Western Karachuonyo have been heard to be secretly calling on Ambassador Lazarus Ombaye Amayo, who is now the head of the EU Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to come forward and take over in the contest of the Homa-Bay County governorship position.

Amayo, however, according to other sources, is still considering himself as a public servant and does not wish to venture into the contest of any elective position at the moment. He is currently the head of the EU Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Relations.

Awiti is said not to be in good book with the most influential woman in Karachuonyo politics, Dr Mrs Phoebe Muga Asiyo, the former two ties MP for the area, and who hail from the Southern part of the constituency {Kanyaluo} areas. He is also not in good working relations with the incumbent MP for Karachuonyo Eng.James K Rege, whose influence in this most populous constituency matters a lot.

Awiti who is believed to have campaigned for the immediate former Karachuonyo MP Dr.Paul Adhu-Awiti during the 2007 general election against Rege is said not to be on seeing one another on eye to eye basis with the MP. He is also being accused for having sponsored the parallel ODM splinter groups led by former journalist Jack Nduri in flagrant defiance of the repeated party headquarters calls for the harmonization of the branch.

All these conflicts of interests surrounding Awiti’s candidature for the position of governorship is to the advantage of Eng.Okundi

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Writes Leo Odera Omolo in Kisumu City.

ONLY one week after his first major public function in the heart of Kisumu was abruptly cancelled on security ground, the suspended Higher Education Minister William Ruto is reported to have posted a large number of agents and political surrogates into various parts of Luo-Nyanza to destabilize his arch-rival Raila Odinga at his home turf.

These agents are said to have their pockets lined up with bank-notes, which they are generously dishing out to the persons targeted for the job.

Ruto’s agent are said to have penetrated many parts of Luo-Nyanza while armed with money and persuasive language in luring ODM member to ditch their party and join which ever party that the Eldoret North would be launching soon.

A large number of Ruto supporters in Luo-Nyanza were lavishly treated to “Nyama-Choma” party at the home of one prominent Luo politician. The home is said to be located near Oyugis Town in Rachuonyo South district, In the Homa-Bay County.

Those who attended the party reported that a lot of niceties exchanged hands. Two fat bulls whose prices were moderately given to be between Kshs 25,000 and Kshs 30,000 each slaughtered.

Invited at the politically charged party were also treated to a lot of beer, ”chang’aa”and other seriously intoxicating drugs. Many were reported to have defiantly vowed to support Ruto’s presidential bid in 2012 irrespective whether their own man Raila Odinga will be in the presidential race or not.

During the aborted public function which was supposed to have been presided by Ruto at the Kenyatta Sports Ground in the heart of Kisumu City, and which was cancelled apparently on security ground and re-scheduled for March 19, the unnamed prominent Luo leader from Kasipul-Kabondo is said to have hired five big passenger buses which would have been used in ferrying supporters to Kisumu City.

Two popular Ohangla musicians from Southern Nyanza were also lavishly paid to travel to Kisumu for the purpose of entertaining the crowd during the Ruto’s function.

Meanwhile reports reaching Kisumu from Siaya County says that a new face in Nyanza politics is causing havoc in Gem constituency in Siaya County. The man who had served in senior capacity in the human resources department of the company, but had lost his job, but was later sacked for the alleged gross misconduct and embezzlement.

The politician whose name was given as Elisha Ochieng’ Odhiambo, who hails fro Umani, a minority Luhyia speaking sub-clan living in North-East Gem along the Nyanza/Western Province borders, has launched an effective and elaborate campaign to unseat Raila Odinga most trusted confidant Jakoyo Midiwo, the incumbent abrasive and combative Gem MP.

It is reported that the sudden emerging of Odhiambo who has sprung from nowhere and launched his campaign with thud is part of Ruto’s long term scheme to destabilize the Prime MinisterOdinga in home turf. Jakoyo Midiwo has blood relations with the Odinga’s from their uncles in Alego-Kakan. His mother and the mother of Raila are sisters.

Asked what chances has his opponent got in Gem, Jakoyo Midiwo scoffed he is now cowed, given the background of his challenger, adding that although Odhiambo is reported to have hired a large number of highly intoxicated and drunken youth to intimidate the electorate in Gem, he stand no chance of dethroning him. May be someone else can be beat me, but this one is the wrong one. He lacked the credibility with which he can win votes among the highly conservative voters in Gem constituency.

Moreover, members of the Umani sub-clan are not pure Luos. They speak both Dho-Luo and Luhya dialects. Other possible challengers to Jakoyo Midiwo include the Nairobi based lawyer Ambrose Rachier who is the chairman of the populist Gor-Mahia Football Club.

Ruto is said to be bankrolling other aspirants in Rongo, Rangwe, Karachuonyo, Kasipul-Kabondo, Nyakach, Muhoroni, Nyatike,Rarieda and in Alego-Usonga. These Ruto’s political surrogates are said to be still operating clandestinely, but would soon come out of their hideouts in full swing to launch the most elaborate and moneyed campaign against the men and women perceived to be Raila’s loyalists.

But what has left many people in Gem bewilder is the hiring of youths to inflict fears in the minds of Gem voters.

Reports emerging from Gem says despite having his pocket full of cash-money suspected to have come from Ruto’s coffers Odhiambo’s early campaign is said to making very little inroad in this area which is predominantly an ODM stronghold. Odhiambo could not be reached for comment.

Political pundits in Nyanza says the coming weeks will see more supporters rebelling and crossing into Ruto’s camp.

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