He
entered the political fray and catapulted his name to the great heights of
Kenyan politics, as a staunch fighter and believer in democracy. His political
die-hards and sycophants still hold him high, on this front despite the
intolerance of divergent opinions that his party has been thrust into. Things
are dark within Orange Democratic Party (ODM) and nothing seems to be going
right. From the men in black shame to the hounding of Magerer Langat out of a
party meeting and now power struggles and factions are evident in this once
flourishing party!
Friday,
February 28 2014, at The Safaricom Stadium Sports Gymnasium during the party’s elections
and an ugly scene unfolds right under the noses of the party’s luminaries and
delegates from all over the country. Men in black suits casually walk onto the
stage and overturn tables, smash ballot boxes and destroy the election
materials. The election is disrupted in what remains to be one of the greatest shows
of impunity in broad daylight! They then casually walk out and the police do
nothing about it, but more disturbing is the fact that the party led by its
leader, Raila Odinga goes mum about it and let the issue lie low! Now, we all
know that going into the botched elections, Orange Democratic Party (ODM) had
two factions and each had its preferred list of leaders to occupy positions in
the party. And as though nothing had happened, the party leader, Raila Odinga
went on a sojourn to the United States of America and the air cooled slowly.
The ugly and distasteful incident of the men in black has never been addressed
and the party still prides itself in some so-called democracy!
Months
later, and in October, as the party’s top luminaries held a National Executive
Committee (NEC) meeting at its Orange House, the Executive Director, Magerer
Lang’at is hounded out of the meeting by a group of goons. Cameras even
captured one of them deflating Magerer’s car! Right under the nose of
RailaOdinga, another ugly incident had happened. Days later, in Homa Bay
County, Nairobi Governor, Dr. Evans Kidero held a fundraiser cum political
rally on the same day that his party leader, RailaOdinga was holding a public
rally on the same day, barely 40km from each other. As expected, legislators
from the party and the larger CORD alliance were divided on the matter. Some
attended Odinga’s rally while others were in the convoy of Kidero’s fundraiser
at Homa Bay High School. Clearly, a show of the intense power struggles and
consequent divisions within the once vibrant party. Yet the sycophants within
the Odinga camp still pretend not to see it. They have continually claimed that
all is okay within the party.
However, it is evident that the party is fast
crumbling as a house of cards! Opinions that are considered to be opposed to
Raila Odinga are no longer tolerated within the party. Maybe, this explains why
Machakos Governor Dr Alfred Mutua, Budalang’i legislator, Ababu Namwamba,
embattled and embarrassed Executive Director, Magerer Langat, former chief whip
and Malindi legislator, Gideon Mng’aro and others are clearly pulling in the
opposite side, and talk of a splinter party from the original ODM is getting
louder with every dawn of the sun! Remember too, that Rongo legislator, Dalmas Otieno
has declared that he is in the race for the country’s top job in 2017! We have
also heard of the Kalusi movement that is reportedly aimed at ending Raila’s
dominance of Luo politics!
The
lyrical sycophants in this party cannot tell the king when he is walking naked
in his yard, cannot take any correction meant for him, no matter how honest and
justified. He is RailaOdinga, former Prime Minister in the Grand Coalition
government and now the revered master of opposition politics! But now, a lot is
terribly wrong in his party. The orange has either gone sour, the movement has
turned chaotic somewhere along the way or better still, and divergent opinions
are now abhorred in the party!
The
end of Raila Odinga and his near-colossus control of Luo politics is slowly but
surely coming to an end. The party that was once the strongest political
movement in the country is now a pale shadow of its former self. Infighting and
all manner of power struggles are crystal clear to the public. Just as several
political commentators have said, the party is literally on its death-bed. From
the look of things, Okoa Kenya should be Okoa ODM! Before CORD saves the
country with this Okoa Kenya political mantra, the coalition should first save
ODM!
Reach
the writer at jeanmutua@yahoo.com
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