History repeats itself in Ababu-Otuoma power games

Long before President Uhuru Kenyatta stirred controversy with his recent “kumezea mate” political analogy, a former Labour minister Peter Habenga Okondo similarly warned former Vice-President Moody Awori against salivating at his position as district branch chairman of the ruling party, Kanu, at a tensed political rally. 

The year was 1990 and Awori was Assistant Minister for Tourism and MP for Funyula constituency in the present-day Busia County.

For the same reasons that the President brushed aside ODM leader Raila Odinga during the burial of former Cabinet minister William Ntimama in Narok, Okondo sought to condemn Awori to a “meat-eating” spectator for challenging him politically.  

Today the quiet power games being played between newly crowned Labour Party of Kenya leader, Ababu Namwamba, and Dr Paul Otuoma, who recently reunited with his Orange party leader Mr Raila Odinga, mirror the same old Okondo-Awori rivalry script.   

The free-speaking Okondo, described by the media as “loose-tongued”, was Budalang’i MP whose current MP is Namwamba, while Awori served for a quarter century as MP for neighbouring Funyula constituency, now under Otuoma.

The friction between Okondo and Awori revolved around power struggles for then powerful post of Kanu branch party boss under the one-party state regime.

Okondo was chairman and Awori vice-chairman of the Busia County branch.

Last week, the yesteryear’s hostilities between Budalang’i and Funyula legislators seemed to be at play again.

Namwamba graced a rebranding function of the LPK outfit, skipped by Otuoma and Sirisia MP John Waluke.

The Budalang’i MP had initially projected the impression that the trio would jointly chart their political destiny away from ODM.

Instead – barely two days later – Otuoma broke ranks with Namwamba by officially re-uniting with Mr Odinga, at a public function in Siaya County.

While some observers view the development as demonstration of disunity among the two neighbours, Namwamba and Otuoma separately told the Sunday Nation that “all is well” between them.

“I was never part of the so-called Third Force as I always maintained that I was merely an ordinary ODM member after relinquishing the post of party vice-chairman. But part of my reservations have been resolved and I can only wish my brother, Ababu, well,” says Otuoma.

POLITICAL DIFFERENCES
Namwamba similarly observes: “We have never been rivals for anything. We served ODM as senior officials and the coalition government as Cabinet ministers quite well. I wish my brother Paul and his party ODM well.”

The public display of affection notwithstanding, reality on the ground tells a different tale.

Ever since their first entry to Parliament in 2007, Namwamba and Otuoma have been engaged in low-voltage political supremacy battles. 

For his display of brilliance and bravery during the official opening of the 10th Parliament, following the disputed 2007 presidential poll, Namwamba’s key backers openly lobbied for his inclusion in the Cabinet in the Mwai Kibaki-Raila Odinga shared government.    

Taking oath during the chaotic parliamentary session on January 15, 2008, Namwamba swore allegiance to Odinga instead and openly rebuked President Kibaki for “stealing the election”.

Odinga later appointed him spokesperson of ODM parliamentary group but gave the ministerial post to the less vocal Otuoma, perhaps as a reward for flooring a powerful pro-Kibaki opponent – Vice- President Awori.

Meanwhile, Namwamba deservingly bargained for plum slots in various House committees, and eventually got appointed to the Cabinet, against political logic.

Odinga promoted him at a time when the geographically smaller Busia County already had another minister Otuoma.

In the process, he denied the more populated Bungoma and Vihiga (after Musalia Mudavadi relinquished his ministerial post to join United Democratic Forum) counties in his western stronghold ‘the flag’, a matter that led to protests and even defections of some like, then Webuye MP, Alfred Sambu. 

The Namwamba-Otuoma rivalry heightened during the ODM national elections in February 2014.

The two spearheaded rival camps in the botched polls, with Namwamba going for post of secretary-general and Otuoma for national chairman’s slot.

GOOD RAPPORT

Efforts by close allies and politicians from Busia, including former Attorney-General Amos Wako, to convince either of the two to stand down for the other, failed flat.  

“I think there is a wrong perception out there that Ababu and I are at loggerheads. Even the idea that I was destined to join LPK is incorrect. Ababu and I are friends, but that does not mean we should stick together in one political outfit,” says Otuoma.

Maintaining that he enjoys a “fantastic” relationship with the Funyula MP, Namwamba on the other concedes that politics being dynamic, varied interests may have motivated their separation. 

“Ababu and I are in agreement on the need to make the populous Luhya voting bloc relevant this time round. We only differ, however, on the approach and avenue of realising the same.”

While Otuoma believes in the Luhya community projecting its visibility in the cover of a giant party and fighting for political space from within, Namwamba believes it is easier for the Luhya to achieve political unity through an alternative “homegrown” vessel.    

According to some pundits, however, the latter approach does not bolster the community’s chances in active involvement in national level politics.

Even at a personal level some, including Makueni Senator, Mutula Kilonzo Jnr, criticise Namwamba for climbing down from leadership of a powerful national party to a relatively smaller outfit.  

Mutula believes the Budalang’i MP has retreated to a party where he may be bogged down trying to build it at the expense of marketing himself and the party.

In the meantime, says Mutula, ODM deputy party leader Hassan Joho is effectively exploiting the vacuum left by Namwamba by popularising ODM and hogging media coverage.   

To some degree, the events revolving around Namwamba and Otuoma rekindle Busia’s politically charged atmosphere of the 1990s.

Unlike today where competition can be eased, courtesy of political pluralism, then Okondo and Awori had to fight it out within Kanu, the sole political party of the time.  

During the explosive rally of 1990 in Budalang’i, for instance, Awori led a walkout of MPs, including Philip Masinde (Busia East) and Pancras Otwani (Amagoro) after Okondo publicly reprimanded him for “kumezea mate” his Kanu branch chairmanship post.

EERIE PREDICTION

Then, President Daniel arap Moi had elevated the party branch offices into very powerful political offices.

Unfortunately for Okondo, he similarly reprimanded vocal Anglican Bishop, Alexander Muge, warning him that if he set foot in Busia he would not return alive.

Muge was a harsh critic of the Moi government. A defiant Muge toured Busia on August 14, 1990 and, on return to his Eldoret station, he was killed in a grisly road accident near Kipkaren River, Turbo town.   

Okondo’s eerie prediction shocked the nation and super schemer Awori immediately led the Busia Kanu branch into piling pressure on Okondo to resign from the Cabinet. 

The push resonated well with the clergy and fellow politicians countrywide.

Okondo eventually quit, allowing Awori room to wrestle the branch chairmanship position from him.

Prof Julia Ojiambo, who served as Funyula MP, recalls these political battles with a lot of regret: the Banyala and Samia people, who occupy the constituencies of Budalang’i and Funyula, are one people who speak the same language, practise same culture and even share same facilities like hospitals and churches.”    

It is instructive to note that it is Ojiambo who has “donated” the LPK party to Namwamba.