ODM faces acid test in move to consolidate grassroots support

• POLITICS: Orange party’s nationwide grassroots mobilisation campaign gets off to a rocky start with rival camps engaging in battles as discontent among the rank and file boils over. But Raila downplays talk of internal fights saying it is normal.

Internal Security assistant minister Orwa Ojodeh was conspicuously absent from the meeting.

Mrs Amollo, a long-time rival of Mr Ojodeh, said of the assistant minister’s absence: “That is unfortunate, but you cannot force people to belong. Those who felt they needed issues to be sorted out attended”.

When contacted Mr Ojodeh said he could not attend the meeting because he had been out of the country on official duty.

“I was in Arusha on official duty; that is why I did not make it,” he told the Sunday Nation.

The wrangles in the party have a familiar form – primarily pitting sitting MPs against their opponents.

Members fear that the popularity of the party is waning because of internal discontent.

Within the Gusii region, there is a feeling that the Luo Nyanza region took the lion’s share of government appointments.

Chris Bichage, who unsuccessfully contested the Nyaribari Chache seat on the party’s ticket, said the PM needs to go back to the drawing board, warning that failure to do so would cause further problems.

“Let us be honest, the feeling is that the grassroots feel short-changed,” he said.

But the PM downplayed talk of internal fights, saying it was normal for people to jostle for positions within the party.

He accused those who lost in the party primaries and General Election of seeking to undermine the sitting MPs, saying that such people were “scoring own goals”.

Mr Odinga is expected to meet ODM delegates from Western Province on Sunday.