Will Odinga family factor play role in Luo politics 2022? – Weekly Citizen

The breakdown in communication chain origin of the crisis can be traced to existing rivalry between Raila Odinga and those who are believed to have opposed the Odinga family.

The national politics dimension depicts a simmering rivalry between two opposing political camps namely the Kieleweke (seen as pro-Raila or pro-handshake) and TangaTanga (seen as pro-Ruto).

Historical injustices that existed since the pre-colonial period have brought to be a hot button issue in Nyanza to date.

For starters, there is a disconnect between what Raila presents versus what the party membership truly want. The lower echelons in the party feet sick sidestepped and often.

Muok

Migori senatorial by elections showed that the average party membership were passing a message to the party top hierarchy; the people were feeling this message was being ignored after Ochilo Ayacko winning a by election that was married by low voter with only 38.02pc of the 388,633 registered votes. In Migori senatorship following the death of Ben Oluoch. Ayacko battled with Elly Muok of Federal Party of Kenya.Muok is now being courted to run for Migori governorship by Obando to face Ayacko who will run for the seat 2022. Ayacko had 85,234 votes during the senatorship by election while Muok had 60,255 votes. Muok enjoyed backing of Obando. The duo is to meet in governorship battle. In 2017, Ayacko faced Obando in ODM party nominations and had backing of ODM chairman John Mbadi and party director of elections Junet Mohammed.

Ayacko

The strife over direct nomination has shown that Agwambo needs to do much to win back the confidence, trust and loyalty of is supporters many bogged down by voter apathy. Some have said that they fear participating in future party or national election because of “low trust” in the big party bureaucracy.

Although previously elected as a ODM ticket Okoth Obado struggled his way to assert his win of the ODM Party ticket as a late thankless gift after unsuccessfully trying to win the party high tables attention before seen as a party functionary whose dealings with Tanga Tanga springs from his association with William Ruto group.

Obado

It is on this premise that some in the party feel he is a Johnny come lately with no genuine interest in the orange party or its leader for that matter.

The disillusionment within the orange party, hierarchy, the bureaucratic off the ground tactics by those running the party and the ‘shielding’ they give Raila from his supporters only renders the

latter a ‘visitor’ whenever he appears for a rally, funeral or meet the people engagement.

It is said that Obado cannot just be wished away in the Migori county politics come the year 2022 as he officially retire after serving two terms of ten years as the governor.

He was first elected as the governor on a PDP ticket after he decamped from ODM party where complaints of shambolic election arose as the party settled on Edward Oyugi.

During the 2017 polls, Obado pulled a first and made a great comeback to ODM party where he clinched the party’s primary which gave him a go ahead to defend his seat as its flag bearer in the hotly contested Migori gubernatorial race.

He might not be in the race come 2022 but political pundits say he will have a say on who the next governor of Migori will be.

In Kisumu, the status of Kisumu and the action plan that Raila unveiled seemed not to digest easily to his supporters.

Devolved government here is seen as yet another cash cow and reward arena where loyalty is promoted and disobedience punished.

Outa

The real revenue trickling down to the county is not being seen and some pundits believe that far from open tendering the county government of Kisumu should invest in modern hotel and tourism ventures that will fetch direct revenue and not benefit the highest bidder.

Raila in a helpless and ironical posture the party rant and file are now frightened as they see dictatorship where they express disapproval and this has not settled with supporters who feel Raila has been at the forefront fighting against the arbitrary use of force to quell discontent.

It is rumoured that Kisumu county senator Fred Outa is Odinga’s family blue-eyed boy who is out to check the operations of the current regime headed by Anyang Nyong’o whom he has now fallen out with politically.

The two campaigned on a platform of team Kali which they used to convince the electorates and they won with Nyong’o becoming the governor while Outa became the senator.

Nyongo

Soon after, the two parted ways politically and are now seeing each other face to face.

Analysts say that going by the recent political events more so, in Ugenya by election where David Ochieng won on Movement for Democracy and Growth Party defeating ODM face Chris Karan,who had Raila blessings, then the family factor is losing say in Luo Nyanza.