By Leo Odera Omolo
The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) over the weekend witnessed a serious rebellion as some of its own MPs broke the rank with the party and openly campaigned for candidates sponsored by rival parties.
It happened when the party¢s supreme Raila Odinga was touring the two rural constituencies to drum up support for the two women contesting the two vacant parliamentary seats in Bomet and Sotik districts.
The two parliament seats fall vacant following the death in a plane accident on June 10 by the former incumbent Kipakalya Kones, who before his death was Kenya¢s Minister for Roads, and Ms Lorna Laboso who was an Assistant Minister for Home Affairs.
The rebellion has caused a lot of panicking and scare within the party hierarchy and observers and pundits in the South Rift region were quick in pointing out that the party could easily lose out to the United Democratic Movement {UDM}in Sotik parliamentary by election.
It is likely to be a repeat of what happened in Kilgoris when all senior Maasai politicians a cross the land joined a PNU candidate Gideon Konchellah who eventually was declared the winner. The Maasai leaders had set aside the question of party loyality and decided to back a PNU candidate on the ground that he was a pure Maasai by blood. Konchellah was facing a Mr.Ng¢eno who is a Kipsigis immigrant settler in the area.
In Sotik a similar feeling and attitude is up against Dr.Joyce Laboso Abonyo, a Kipsigis girl who is married to Mr. Abonyo a Luo from Nyakach in Nyando district.
Her candidature has divided the ODM and contributed to the latest development whereby all Kipsigis MPs have switched side, and were by the weekend campaigning openly for the rival party¢s candidate.
The United Democratic Movement {UDM} candidate in Sopik is Brigadier {rtd} Alexander Sitienei, a former retired President Daniel Arap Moi¢s ADC.
Leading an assault on the ODM is its own MP Isaac Ruto [Chepalungu} who was joined by former KANU MPS Nathaniel Chebellion {Konoin}, Samuel Moroto, John Arap Koech.
The Mau Forest land issue dominated the campaign rallies with the Prime Minister Raila Odinga making frantic and spirited effort to clear the air that the grand coalition government was biased towards the Kipsigis community. The PM even went as far as promising that he would look for foreign donations in order to secure sufficient funds for the purpose of compensating the squatters facing eviction.
At Chebiulat Trading Centre, which is located along the Borabu-Sotik districts the PM assured the audience that the eviction will be carried out with compete human face. He said the Narc government had made a grave mistake when it allowed thousands of the already removed settlers back INTO Mau Forest as a bait for vote catching during the last year¢s general election.
At one point Isaac Ruto and his team were addressing a rally at Soinet, which is only eight kilometers from where the Prime Minister was addressing a campaign meeting almost within the same locality.
The Mau Forest issue dominated most of the rallies. The Minister for Agriculture William Ruto is also expected in the area today {Monday} to drum up the support for the ODM candidates, but political pundits were skeptical about the chances of the party clinching all the two seats Ruto is believed to be a genius campaigner and an orator in the Kalenjin vernacular just as he is very eloquent in both English and Kiswahili languages.
The assessment carried out on the ground indicated that it would be an up-hill task for the Odm to convince the electorate in Sotik to vote for a lady who is m marital status also dominated the campaign just in the same fashion as the Mau Forest land issue married outside the Kipsigis community to come back home and triumph in the by-election .Dr. Laboso¢s victory in Sotik would definitely leave a deep political scar in the party.
It is also strange that John Arap Koech and Isaac Ruto the two perennial protagonists who rivalries in Chepalungu constituency have joined hand together in campaigning for Brig. Sitienei against Dr. Laboso in what observers have pointed out as dangerous tribalism.
Other Kipsigis MPs kept a safe distance, and were nowhere to be seen during the PM¢s cam[paihn tour of the region. Earlier, the youths allied to Nick Salat of KANU had scared the ODM Lluminaries led by the Secretary General Prof.Peter Anyang¢ Nyong¢o who had led the campaign team in Bomet, when they heckled the former Bomet Mayor John Sang and threw stones at the team.
The United Democratic Movement {UDM} a political party which ghitherto was a run=down was launched in the North Rift region jointly by the former Minister for Agriculture Kipruto Arap Kirwa, William Ruto, Cyrus Jirongo and Fred Amayo eight tears ago.
It has kept a low profile,until it was registered a fresh last month under its new party leader Lt. Gen {rtd}Jophn Koech the former deputy CGS and its new Secretary General Francis Ole Kamwaro. It resurfaced strongly in June during the by-elections held in Ainamoi Constituency in Kericho district where its candidate Dr. Chepkwony gave the ODM candidate Benjamin Lang¢at a run for his money. U
UDM according to Gen Koech stand for the protection of pastoral minorities and would work with any party that is out to united all Kenya and articulate for the rights of the under privileged communities.
ENDS
leooderaomolo@yahoo.com
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Date: Mon, 22 Sep 2008 04:44:56 -0700 (PDT)
From: Leo Odera Omolo
Subject: ODM GLARES AT THE OPEN REBELLION BY ITS OWN MPS WHO CAMPAIGNED FOR RIVAL PARTY CANDIDATES IN BOMET AND SOTIKI BY ELECTIONS
GEMA BACK AT IT AGAIN,SMAMELESSLY SO IMPUNITY CONTINUES.
It is amazing but not surprising that Central Province political leaders are united against Waki’s report. This is outright impunity back at work. The unarmed ODM politicians who were protesting against the arrogant theft of the 2007 elections are now being referred to by GEMA politicians as the main causers of the 2007 post-elections violence. It is now obvious as it was prior to and immediately after the 2007 presidential elections that GEMA politicians always wanted the majority of Kenyans to accept corruption, nepotism,land grabbing, arrogant tribalism, bad governance and worse the blatant 2007 presidential votes theft lying down.
They are now saying by implication that they met at state house in order to massacre in ”revenge attacks”Luos and non-GEMA communities in Naivasha, Nakuru and Kisumu towns and all over the country in self defence, that is the state shamelessly officially slaughtering its citizens.
These fat holy cows are now shamelessly saying that dispossessing the Kalenjins and the Maasai of their land in the Rift Valley must be accepted by all peaceloving Kenyans lying down.
They are now saying by implication that there should not have been any protests even if PNU stole the elections and there after shot and killed the innocent democratic youth who were fighting with their lives, unarmed, for the return of democracy!
All peaceloving people right here in Kenya and the world over know that there could never have been any protests in the post elections period if the said elections had not been stolen by PNU. It would appear that even if Ruto was taken to The Hague he could not be found guilty for protesting against impunity, bad governance, arrogance, negative tribalism,the arrogant theft of the votes and worse the theft of their land by GEMA community.
The GEMA politicians are insulting the Kalenjins, Maasai and all those tribes who are being oppressed and exploited by them since independence. They are insulting the Luos who were gleefully shot dead by police in Kisumu even before they started any peaceful demonstrations against the 2007 presidential elections theft.
Like in the law of Physics every action has an equal and opposite reaction. The arrogant impunity being displayed by Uhuru Kenyatta and Kiraitu Murungi will definitely spark off a nullifying effect from the remaining 80% of the Kenyan population and worse with the onset of such an event there might never be another opportunity for yet another grand coalition to save them and their arrogance.
History will judge us harshly if we could allow meetings to be held at state house funded by the taxpayers’ money to mow down the citizens who stand for the truth and justice.
It is shameful to propose that local judges shpould investigate and judge the offenders of the post 2007 elections violence since they could not deliver justice to Kenyans not only on the 2007 post-elections chaos since the courts are parked with Kibaki’s tribesmen and the AG is his appointee who earns a living by maintaining status quo-IMPUNITY!We should all route for trial at The Hague even if it would nean washing our dirty linen, which is already stinking with injustice and impunity, before the international community.
As for Uhuru Kenyatta and Kiraitu Murungi I say that innocent non-GEMA communities do not have perpetrually elastic tolerance to impunity.
DR. SURE RABACH