Tame Jakoyo and Oburu, or else... rebels tell Raila

ODM leader Raila Odinga has this week come under intense pressure to tame seven of his close allies or lose the support of key regions.

The demands come in the wake of a near-fallout in the party following a sustained onslaught on Budalang’i MP Ababu Namwamba by MPs close to Mr Odinga.

The seven MPs cited are Nominated MP Oburu Oginga, Jakoyo Midiwo (Gem), Otieno Kajwang’ (Homa Bay Senator), Millie Odhiambo (Mbita), Gladys Wanga (Homa Bay Woman Representative), Junet Mohammed (Suna East) and Opiyo Wandayi (Ugunja).

A group of MPs from Western province on Wednesday told Mr Odinga to his face that they would leave the party if his allies continued branding dissenting voices as Jubilee moles.

While all has not been well in the orange party since the aborted elections in which Mr Namwamba believes was disrupted to rob him of victory, Mr Odinga’s allies point at the Budalang’i MP’s skipping of recent Cord activities as a confirmation he was working with Mr Odinga’s opponents.

Matters came to a head on Tuesday when Mr Namwamba challenged Mr Odinga to hold the party’s election first before pushing for a referendum.
The stand-off prompted the former PM to call a meeting with Mr Namwamba after which the former announced the party was united.

Mr Odinga is already facing rebellion from a section of Coast leaders following the ouster of Kilifi North MP Gideon Mung’aro as the Minority Whip in Parliament over his alleged dalliance with the Jubilee Coalition.

The fresh rift not only take the winds off the sails of Mr Odinga’s referendum-push ship, but also threatens to shatter his strongest support bases outside Luo Nyanza, a development which could complicate his fourth, and probably last, stab at the presidency.

Yesterday, Mr Odinga played down the turbulence in ODM, maintaining that all was well in the party and that the differences among the MPs had been resolved amicably.

“What happened following alleged utterances by Mr Namwamba and response by his colleagues has already been discussed and resolved amicably. Each of these people explained their positions and they agreed to move forward together as a team. It is a chapter we have closed and I would urge all MPs to close it,” he said through his spokesman Dennis Onyango.

JUBILEE MOLE

Last week, Mombasa Governor Ali Hassan Joho told off Mr Odinga’s allies over their reckless talk and defended Mr Namwamba against accusations that he was a Jubilee mole.

Former Westlands MP and chairman of the ODM Council of Elders Fred Gumo also warned that Western and Coast regions would decamp from ODM if Mr Odinga failed to tame his allies.

“Coast is already on the edge, slowly drifting away, at this rate, we (Western) will follow suit. And before you realise, you will soon see the two Cord principals also disembarking,” the combative politician warned.

“Raila must discipline these guys and tell them to go slow. They cannot afford to chase the few people they have because the moment you start removing people, the consequences will be dire,” Mr Gumo said.

Navakholo MP Emmanuel Wangwe separately told Mr Namwamba that he was not wanted in ODM and should shop for another party.
Yesterday, Mr Mohammed — who attended the meeting between Mr Odinga and Mr Namwamba’s allies — confirmed that the issue of “Jubilee moles” was discussed.