As a result of Paul Abuor’s (Rongo) and Mark Nyamita’s (Uriri) defiance of the party leadership and decision to cooperate with President William Ruto’s government, ODM has taken action to neutralize their influence.
Six MCAs were already expelled from house leadership committees by the party that controls the Migori county assembly due to associations with the two lawmakers and hosting Ruto when the President recently paid the county a visit.
Peter Mijungu, from West Kanyamkago, George Omamba, from North Kanyamkago, Eunice Odii, from Central Kanyamkago, Norman Ogolla, from East Kanyamkago, Collins Osewe, from North Kamagambo, and Olima Bonyo, from North Kadem are the six.
The opening of “new party offices” in the two seats was spearheaded last week by the county party leadership and governor Ochillo Ayacko, and was perceived as a political retaliation against the two MPs.
But Nyamita and Abuor described the governor’s action as insignificant in a phone interview with the Star on Monday.
According to Nyamita, “The governor has no authority or right to expel anyone from the party or alter the leadership structure, what he did has no political or legal basis.”
The two leaders expressed regret that Ayacko had not followed through on his 100-day campaign promises and that he was instead visiting their areas to engage in partisan politics.
The governor is welcomed in Uriri, but Nyamita stated, “We are all elected to serve the people. The governor should come to introduce a pit latrine from the devolved unit instead of parallel party offices next time.
As a result of the absence of the chairmen, secretaries, and treasurers from the constituencies, Ayacko and a few other party leaders, according to Abuor, created what he called “personal secretariats for the governor.”
When the party wrote to us about working with the government, we replied that we had not left the orange portion, said Abuor. “We are still in the ODM to stay.”
The purportedly ousted Uriri ODM chairman, Helen Oyaro, claimed that no legal ruling was implemented and no elections were called.
What happened last week was a personal errand by the governor and was not binding, according to Oyaro. “We are in the ODM party and we have support from party members and leaders at the grass-roots and ward level,” Oyaro added.
Ayacko said last week that despite no one having pursued the two MPs, they were quitting the party and searching for ways to damage it when speaking in Rongo at the inauguration of the offices.
If we don’t save our party, we run the risk of losing our unity that unites us across tribes and clans, Ayacko said. “ODM party unity will not be destroyed.”
According to Ayacko, the dissident parliamentarians are affiliated with the same administration that has resisted giving funding to local governments.
“Voters gave them the mandate to debate in the House, development from the government comes to all Kenyans as a right and not to be held in ransom,” added Ayacko.
Ayacko promised to put in a lot of effort to fortify the new premises.