Raila focuses on Nairobi in bid to streamline ODM operations

Orange Democratic Movement leader Raila Odinga will be in Nairobi for three days this coming week in an attempt to streamline and strengthen his party’s hold on city politics.

From Friday to Sunday, Raila will be engaged in a charm offensive to unite elected leaders and party officials, as well as rolling out interim leadership in nine city constituencies created before the 2013 General Election.

The former Prime Minister, who is also co-principal of the Opposition CORD (Coalition for Reforms and Democracy), will address two retreats organised by the party before addressing a public rally in Nairobi’s Eastlands area on Sunday.

Nairobi Governor is ODM’s Evans Kidero, and the party also holds eight of the county’s 17 parliamentary seats. The other nine MPs are from The National Alliance (TNA), as are Senator Mike Sonko and Women’s Representative Rachel Shebesh.

ODM activities in Nairobi come after by-election wins in Homa Bay and Kajiado Central, a demonstration that the party, which has the largest parliamentary representation in the country, remains a force to reckon with.

George Aladwa, the Orange party’s chairman in Nairobi County, told The Standard on Sunday that on Friday, Raila will address ODM members of the county assembly (MCAs) at a hotel during a daylong retreat.

“On Saturday, the party leader will meet 20 party delegates from each of the 85 wards in the county at the Bomas of Kenya,” said Aladwa, a former mayor of the city.

On Sunday morning, Raila will be at St Stephen’s Anglican Church of Kenya, Jogoo Road. He will address the rally in the afternoon.

This rally could also see ODM national chairman John Mbadi and secretary general Ababu Namwamba share the same platform for the first time since differences arose between them over investigations into allegations of corruption at the Public Accounts Committee (PAC). Namwamba chairs the now suspended PAC, which Mbadi is a member.

“All national ODM officials have been invited to the rally in Dandora on Sunday. We have also invited all elected city MPs, MCAs and MPs from other parts of the country,” Aladwa told The Standard on Sunday.

Raila is said to be keen to consolidate ODM’s presence and visibility in the city, especially after the retirement of Fred Gumo, who represented Westlands Constituency.

ODM also lost Bishop Margaret Wanjiru, once a key party figure in the city, to TNA, where she is said to be among those angling to contest the gubernatorial seat against Kidero in 2017.

Step down

Aladwa was prevailed upon by Raila to step down as the party’s deputy national organising secretary and take over leadership of the Nairobi branch. “The party leader felt that Nairobi needed a battle hardened person to lead the county, and when he requested that I relinquish the national seat and concentrate on restructuring Nairobi, I obliged,” noted Aladwa.

According to Aladwa, ODM only has structured leadership in eight constituencies in the city, but interim officials will be appointed for the other nine, as directed by Raila.

Another concern is uniting the party’s MCAs under Kidero. It’s believed the Governor and County Assembly Majority leader Elias Otieno do not see eye to eye politically, and their differences could be undermining the performance of the county government.

Governor Kidero, who was once viewed by some as a rebel, has since mended his relations with Raila after leading resource mobilisation for the Kajiado Central by-election.