Commentary By Leo Odera Omolo In Kisumu City.
The last Monday bloody clashes on the violence prone Luo-Nyanza between the two different factions within the ODM party is a big shame not only to the Luo community, but for the entire Kenyan nation as a whole.
It is even more shameful that the bloody skirmishes, which resulted in the killing of Mr Emmanuel Odhiambo Oguta an aide to the Uriri MP in an area which I 100 plus per cent ODM stronghold. And that the clashes pitted members of the same political party and its one district sub-branch.
Someone somewhere should come out from hiding and tell Kenyans the truth about this particular ugly incident. which has since brought big shame to Kenya as a nation.
It could be understood, if it had occurred between the Greens and the Reds camps .Elsewhere, Kenyans have conducted themselves peaceful during the entire period of referendum campaign, even in those region which are classified as “Flash Points’.
What has com to light the public domain is that the parallel Yes campaign rally was called by the Uriri branch of the ODM vice chairman Mr Ogola Oloo in collaboration with one local politician Martin Owiny, who is perceived to be an aspirant in the Uriri parliamentary seat in the year 2012 together with a number of rebellious civic leaders within the constituency, who happens to be singing different tone from that which is sang by the area MP who also happens to be the party’s branch chairman.
It is indeed very unfortunate that this kind of blood letting happened in Nyanza a region where the referendum campaign was in low profile. However, the incident could as much be attributed to the 2012. Most of the Luo MPs from Nyanza have of late become insensitive for anybody they perceived to be a potential opponent in the 2012 general election, though the election is still two years away.
We have noticed that there is a lot of scramble for the 2012 polls. MPs and other stakeholders have formed the bad habit of hiring and sponsoring political goons to antagonize those perceived to be their potential rivals in2012. The same is with those who would be aspirants in various constituencies are also known to be applying the same tactics.
These political hirelings and goons are visible everywhere and in every public gathering, funeral homes included. The goons are always armed with instruction from their bosses to heckle and antagonize potential opponents. The main aim and objective is not to let anyone aspiring for a parliamentary seat in 2012 be given an opportunity to be heard.
On last Monday, a number of MPs from Southern Nyanza were due to address a series of Yes campaign rallies in Uriri and Rongo constituencies. The team of MPs comprising of the host, Cyprian Ojwang’Omolo {Uriri}, Dalmas Otieno {Rongo}, Oyugi Maguwanga {Kasipul-Kabondo},John Pesa [Migori}, and Edick Omondi Anyanga {Nyatike} had just arrived at Rapogi Trading Center when the news filtered in that a similar Yes campaign rally had also been organized by a rival ODM faction at Sibuoche about 12kilometers away from the Rapogi venue of the main rally.
Both rallies had been duly sanctioned and licensed by the police. But someone decided to dispatch youths in four vehicles to go and disrupt the rival rally. Some of the youths are said to have been hired from Rongo and Awendo towns in the neighboring Rongo constituency and were heavily armed with crude weapons and stones.
Initially the hired youth led by the deceased who was an aide to the area MP succeeded in dispersing the people in attendance and the organizers of the rival rally who they caught unaware and by surprise. But the local retaliated with stones and since the hired goons were outnumbered they beat hasty retreat during which the victim fell out of the moving vehicle and sustained minor injuries. His colleague’s fled the scene and droves off in high speed amid the hails of stones without going back to his rescue, and the rival group set up upon him with stones, rungus and kicks leaving him for dead.
May be the area MP did not take lightly the fact that the rival Yes rally had been called by his deputy within the ODM rank and file at the branch level and that one of his potential political rivals in the 2012 was the main speakers, What the MP and his team should have done was to simply ask the police to proceed to Sibuoche and stop or disperse the rival Yes rally instead of sending political goons.
However, a million question remained unanswered is:. Why should the goons be dispatched to go and disrupt or disperse a Yes rally 12 kilometers away, if the two rallies were serving the same purpose, namely that of drumming up support for the Yes camp in the on-going campaign for the referendum on the draft constitution?
Another question is that; Was the area MP Cyprian Ojwang’ Omolo made to be aware and reasonably alerted that his supporters had gone to disrupt other people’s meeting? Who paid the money for hiring the four vehicles which ferried armed youth to the rivals rally? Did the MP actually sanction the exercise? If so why did he want to disrupt his political rivals meeting and yet they were all campaigning for the same Yes votes? And finally who paid the money for the hiring the four vehicle and who purchased the weapons these youth were carrying in the vehicles?.
In my opinion the above questions should be the crux of the basis of police investigations for the purpose of bringing to book whoever might have been responsible for hatching the plot for the act of political violence and thuggery, which resulted in the loss of precious life of a Kenyan.
The death of Mr Odhiambo Oguta has marred the otherwise peaceful referendum campaign which was conducted by the two warring camps in a high matured manner throughout the Republic of Kenya, and which was devoid of any blood letting. It was unwarranted and uncalled for action which must be condemned in the strongest possible terms by all peace loving
Kenyans. Our country is a democratic state and therefore our sitting MPs must learn to be accommodative of those with diverse views. The use of violence to resolve political differences is primitive and outmoded.. and as such must be discarded as retrogressive.
Ends
leooderaomolo@yahoo.com
The author Leo Odera Omolo is a veteran journalist operating I the lakeside City of Kisumu as a freelance writer. He is a regular commentator on different topics and issues.