Writes Arrum-Tidi Ogonglo In Migori Town.

The move made last weekend, by the ODM leader Raila Odinga, to award the Senate seat to the Kuria tribe, as one way of teasing the minority Kuria community to vote for him in his presidential bid, has elicited lot of controversies in the region.

The decision which was reached after a closed door meeting held at the Migori town between the Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Kuria and some Luo leaders appeared to have offended many people in the region, especially the aspirants who have been campaigning for the various elective positions within the County governance.

Many have hinted that they would either decamp from the ODM o contest the elections as independent candidates. It has been termed as undemocratic, unconstitutional and dictatorial while other described the move as “primitive”.

At the same time other local leaders were heard hinting that thy might move to court to block the Senate candidature of the Assistant minister Dr Walter Machage who was awarded the Senate position, arguing that the Kura MP is the chairman of the DP and has yet to reigned from that party and PNU a party which has gone into a merger with TNA-URP alliance.

They said it is in vagrant violation of the clause in new constitution requirement which stipulates that for one to be allowed to contest the election on a political party one must have been a member of that party for the last six months.

The leaders in both Luo and Kuria have rejected the power-sharing arrangement with those on the Kuria side arguing that Dr Machage is not enjoying the supported by the entire Kuria community. He has no capacity to convince all the voters in Kuria to vote for Raila’ presidential bid as he is treated with contempt by the Kura as an opportunist in pursuit of his persona and selfish interest.

The power sharing decision came late after when the chairman of ODM in Migori County branch John Mgaiwa had already declared his intention to contest the Senate seat. Magaiwa campaign for the same seat had already hit the ground.

All the indications are that there could be mass defections from ODM in Migori County by the aspirants who have been campaigning o the various seats to other parties.

Among the leading personalities in Migori who have already been on the ground campaigning for the Senate seat included former Mathare MP Gilbert Ochieng’ Mbeo, former Homa-By MP Phares Oluoch Kanindo, former Gender Secretary Prof Colete Suda who told Raila to his ace that the awarding of some seats to people who did not campaign for them is undemocratic.

Local leaders blamed the Rongo MP Dalmas Otieno who is also the Minister for Public Services for having meddled in the matter in collaboration with the few Luo MPs from the region. They alleged that the Minister who is known to be always erratic politically had called a secret meting with some Kuria leaders and a few MPs from the region in Nairobi in secrecy without consulting the local party leaders and arrived at the unpopular decision.

In the hotly contested arrangement brokered by Raila, the Kuria will provide the deputy governor an women representative while the Luos will provide the governor and the Kuria would clinch the Senate seat.

From all the indications, the power-sharing arrangement might not see the light of the day judging from the objections raised by the Luos.some of those opposed to the idea accused Raila Odinga of having dictatorial tendency of planting unpopular leadership on the people.This, they said has forced many potential leaders out of the ODM who decamped to other parties.

The tendency of planting rejects to the electorate is what had killed the former powerful Pentagon outfit and sent its members fleeing from the ODM to other political parties, therefore the PM must change his tactics if at all he want to win the presidency. He should let the people who are interested in contesting the elections in various seats to compete with each other in a democratic manner, but not on a power-sharing arrangement which is autocratic and dictatorial.

Prof Suda told Raila that she had never known a democratic system in which the elective position is dished out. ”It is undemocratic and unconstitutional and does not take into consideration the interest of women.’

Moreover the Kuria MP who is facing the stiffest opposition at home has all these years is known to have been vilifying the ODM as a party and Raila Odinga its leaders, so his latest about turn and change of heat might not find soft landing within the ODM local party hierarchy.

Ends