Raila picks new allies to bolster campaign team

By Isaac Ongiri

ODM leader Raila Odinga has replaced three ‘Pentagon’ kingpins from his 2007 run at the presidency with younger faces from around the country.

Close allies say the Prime Minister shall turn to young leaders, community elders and women to help him reach undecided voters. The new approach comes after the departures of three of the five regional leaders the PM had rallied around him five years ago.

The changes were also revealed just a week after Deputy PM Musalia Mudavadi, one of his former allies turned political rival, dismissed Raila, 67, as being ready for retirement.

While on a tour of Busia County, Mr Odinga announced four new regional allies: Ababu Namwamba (Western), Hassan Joho (Coast), Magerer Langat (Rift Valley) and Manson Nyamweya (Nyanza/Kisii). Raila said he had replaced Mudavadi, Eldoret North MP William Ruto and Mvita’s Najib Balala.

Speaking at Bumala and Matayos trading centres on his way to Busia Stadium for a public rally, Raila said he had replaced Mudavadi with Budalang’i MP Ababu Namwamba as his point man in Western.

“Transport Assistant minister Hassan Joho (Kisauni) takes over from Balala as my point man in Mombasa,” said the PM. He added that Mr Magerer, the Energy assistant minister and Kipkelion MP, would take over from Ruto as his link person in Rift Valley.

Vote-rich regions

Prime Minister Raila Odinga addresses a public rally at Busia Municipal Stadium in Busia town, on Saturday. [Photo: Renson Buluma/Standard]

Trade assistant Minister Manson Nyamweya (South Mugirango) takes over the mantle of his point man in Kisii region, previously held by former MP Omingo Magara.

Raila’s decision to pick young people as his point men in vote-rich regions is aimed at attracting youths into supporting his bid for president. Fresh off attacking his nearest rivals for rallying their communities behind them, the PM is moulding a campaign team managed at more than three levels by youthful leaders, a council of elders and women. ?

Young MPs led by Assistant Minister Alfred Khangati (PM’s Office) and Mr Namwamba are heading ‘command bases’ for the Rapid Response Team and ODM Reloaded group respectively.

The first deals with political crises and attacks, while the latter paves the ground for ODM rallies in various parts of the country.

Cabinet Ministers Fred Gumo and William Ntimama lead a group of the party’s more experienced MPs and elders. ODM says the new teams are a break from the ‘Pentagon’ model in which Raila had five ethnic kingpins: Mr Mudavadi (Western), Mr Ruto (Rift Valley), Charity Ngilu (Eastern), Joseph Nyaga (Mt Kenya) and Mr Balala (Coast).

The ODM Pentagon went dormant after the election and was later depleted after Ruto, Mudavadi and Balala went their separate ways. Ngilu and Nyaga have been sending mixed signals on their future with ODM and Raila.

The PM hopes the new model will allow him to operate without being answerable to a cabal of political leaders. His allies say this will help him avoid the arm-twisting he suffered after the formation of the Grand Coalition.?

When launching his bid for State House last weekend, Raila’s strongest rival, Deputy PM Uhuru Kenyatta, made a point of stressing his youthful team. This is a theme that has been shared by other G7 leaders as well as UDF’s Mudavadi.

Uhuru also avoided moneyed powerbrokers in the business world in an attempt to draw attention to their influence on presidential hopefuls. Raila’s new approach answers some of these strategic decisions.

Mr Khangati’s group comprises a team of aggressive debaters who lead the charge against parliamentary onslaughts targeted at ODM or the Prime Minister. The team is always on high alert during the PM’s weekly parliamentary address.

This is one of the most engaging items on the parliamentary Order Paper, drawing large numbers of MPs seeking to engage the premier on various issues.

The group comprises Namwamba, John Mbadi (Gwasi), Dr Joyce Laboso (Sotik) and Nominated MPs Rachael Shebesh and Millie Odhiambo, among others.

“Our team engages on urgent matters touching on parliamentary business and any other issues that requires serious party response,” the minister said.

Khangati said the new strategy is to give an opportunity to every group and widen consultations while freeing the Raila campaign from the historical baggage he had to bear when he adopted regional kingpins.

Namwamba’s ODM Reloaded now heads the PM advance teams to political rallies. The group is rolling out a 47-county caravan campaign to popularise the PM and ODM under the ODM Reloaded banner.

Strong party

“Our mission is to showcase ODM as a strong party and take it to its owners at the grassroots,” Namwamba said. “We will tour all the 47 counties. So far, the response has been massive and the perception that ODM is finished has been dealt a blow.” ?

Those in Namwamba’s team include Assistant Ministers Khangati, Margaret Wanjiru (Housing), Manson Nyamweya (Trade) and Hassan Joho (Transport), Magerer (Petroleum). Ms Odhiambo, Shebesh and Mbadi are also the group’s associate members.

So far, the Budalangi MP’s team has been to Mombasa, Kakamega, Bungoma and Busia. Today, the PM will be in Kakamega again.

The three groups have direct contacts and access with the PM to share notes and intelligence regularly. They reinforce other campaign segments including the Raila campaign Secretariat and Friends of Raila, an official campaign lobby group.

Mr Gumo and Mr Ntimama’s group of elders comprises ODM chairman Henry Kosgey, Cabinet ministers Dalmas Otieno, James Orengo and Franklin Bett and assistant ministers Ramadan Kajembe, Dr Oburu Oginga, Rev Julius Murgor and Joseph Nkaissery. The group is in charge of playing advisory roles and sharing intelligence from the grassroots.

Raila’s spokesman Dennis Onyango says the PM wants to work more with young people and women. He added that Raila would meet the ODM Youth League and the Women’s League at a three-day event next month culminating in an ODM National Governing Council meeting.

The meeting was initially planned for next week but has been postponed, as the PM will be in Turkey attending an international forum on Somalia.