Repeal law on party slots, says MP

An Orange Democratic Movement MP in the Coast region say amendments passed to create more party positions should be repealed.

Speaking to Sunday Nation on phone Saturday, the Wundanyi MP and ODM coastal spokesman Thomas Mwadeghu expressed “shock and disbelief” that the proposal was approved even after delegates opposed it “vehemently”.

“We don’t agree with amendments to create more positions because this will not only dilute governance but also weaken the party’s leadership roles,” he said.
He accused some party members of disrupting party elections on Friday after sensing defeat.

Saying the chaos was pre-planned, he wondered why goons destroyed the voting materials and overturned tables after the nominated MP Isaac Mwaura complained.
“Who are those people? Why did they smash the plastic ballot boxes?” he posed.

He said the National Election Board should explain to members what really happened, adding that coast leaders will wait for the outcome of the National Governing Council (NGC) tomorrow to know their next cause of action.

Elsewhere, Mombasa Senator Hassan Omar asked ODM leadership to take a decisive action against the perpetrators of Friday’s mayhem saying they are known.

“It is my hope the ODM leadership will demonstrate its firm conviction in dealing with political hooliganism that has characterised its elections exercises,” he said adding that he expected the troublemakers to be arrested and prosecuted immediately.

On his role in persuading the Coast delegates who had boycotted the convention to attend, Mr Omar of Wiper, said it was out the region’s resolve to work as a team irrespective of political affiliation.

Political thuggery

He expressed concern that political thuggery was ruining the image of the coalition.

In a separate interview, Changamwe MP Omar Mwinyi said the Ababu Namwamba and Hassan Joho team won the elections both acclamation and by secret ballot.

“Party owners who are the delegates spoke on Friday but a few disgruntled elements sensed defeat and disrupted elections,” he said.

He warned that unless the party reins on hooliganism, the party will continue losing popular leaders who join other parties.

“ODM lost three seats in Mombasa County after popular leaders were rigged out from party nomination exercise only to emerge victorious as Wiper candidates – Senator Hassan Omar, Jomvu MP Badi Twalib and Nyali MP Hezron Awiti,” he said.

Referring to the Friday chaos as a sad moment for ODM, Mr Mwinyi, thanked Coast leaders and delegates for standing united.

“Now that the secretary general and chairman have stepped down, let their positions filled up by those who won on Friday,” he added.

But Kwale County ward rep Omar Boga, an ardent supporter of Senator Agnes Zani, said consensus is the only way out of the current stalemate.

He said the division and mistrust witnessed at Kasarani can’t be resolved through polls but through a give-and-take solution to avoid a party split.

Contacted on phone, Dr Zani refused to be drawn into any discussion saying she was waiting for NGC decision.

“No comments for now, let’s wait for Monday’s NGC meeting and then we can talk,” she said.

From the historical point of view, Pwani University lecturer Prof Halimu Shauri says the coast region is ‘awakening from a deep slumber’.

Prof Shauri says the region’s became divided 50 years ago Ronald Ngala joined President Jomo Kenyatta in government.

“But in 2013 election, the region overwhelmingly voted for Cord, and galvanised the leadership into a formidable force,” he said.

Describing it as ‘a proxy voice’, the professor said anyone who is eyeing the presidency in 2017 cannot afford ignore the coast region.