NEW TROUBLE FOR RAILA ODINGA IN KISII

ODM boss Raila Odinga and DP William Ruto are facing a fresh headache in their bid to woo the Gusii community after allies from the region unveiled plans to form a party.

Some 17 MPs from the region on Thursday revealed the possibility of  what could throw Raila and Ruto back to the drawing board.

The MPs were elected on various parties but have been coalescing around the duo ahead of the 2022 elections.

Addressing a press conference at Serena Hotel, the MPs said they have shelved their differences and embarked on a series of consultations to consolidate the community behind one political vehicle.

“If the existing political parties and if the current presidential candidates would not meet the aspirations of the Kisiis, we are also at liberty,” Borabu MP Ben Momanyi said.

“We have the energy, the power and capacity of also coming up with a party and drive it.”

They reiterated that over the years, the community has been pushed to the political periphery and forced to be mere attendees in political boardrooms, a scenario they said they are keen to reverse.

“We, therefore, wish to declare that this time, we won’t be spectators but participants. We won’t be subs in the team but must be on the pitch. We won’t be led to sing, we will conduct our song too,” they said in a statement read by South Mugirango MP Sylvanus Osoro.

“We will be reviewing all available options that include but are not limited to establishing a fully-fledged national party,” Osoro said.

Osoro is a close ally and a fierce defender of DP Ruto.

Osoro and Momanyi were flanked by National Assembly Deputy Majority leader Jimmy Angwenyi (Kitutu Chache), Zadock Ogutu (Bomachoge), Jerusha Momanyi (Nyamira woman representative), Samuel Arama (Nakuru Town West), Ezekiel Machogu (Nyaribari Masaba) and Shadrack Mose (Kitutu Masaba).

Others are Raila’s confidant Simba Arati (Dagoretti North), Joash Nyamoko (North Mugirango), Richard Onyonka (Kitutu Chache South), Vincent Kemosi (West Mugirango), Alfa Miruka (Bomachoge Chache) and Innocent Obiri (Bobasi).

However, veteran politician and Kisii Senator Samson Ongeri and his Nyamira counterpart Okong’o Omogeni neither attended the meeting nor signed the statement.

Raila and Ruto have been banking on the leaders to penetrate the vote-rich region.

In the 2013 and 2017 general elections, Raila garnered the most votes for president. Raila’s ODM won the governor seats in both Kisii and Nyamira as well as the senator seats.

However, the orange party did not win a single parliamentary seat from the region in 2017.

The leaders said they have planned meetings with professionals and politicians from the region as part of their wider engagement as they seek to give the community political direction.

Among the leaders, they seek to consult are top government officials headed by Interior CS Fred Matiang’i as well as Governors Moses Nyaribo (Nyamira) and James Ongwae (Kisii).

“We have resolved to have a consultative meeting with various stakeholders, particularly, professionals drawn from the larger Gusii community within the next one week and which will culminate into holding consultative meetings at the grassroots in our two counties,” Osoro said.

The leaders however reiterated that they won’t mind supporting a political party to will alive to the political and economic interests of the community.

Momanyi said the consultation will be broad, wide and will involve the grassroots to ensure the final decision will be embraced by the entire community.

On his part, Onyonka divulged that the consultative will also involve Kisii’s in diaspora and well as those living outside the two counties but within the country.

By The Star Kenya