Having declined to contest for the Homa Bay senatorial seat, former Prime Minister Raila Odinga could have the final say on who succeeds the late senator Otieno Kajwang.
Given Raila’s political influence in the area, the candidate who has his blessings will obviously carry the day, but it remains to be seen who he could endorse among his many close allies eyeing the seat.
But some observers argue that Raila could be reluctant to endorse a candidate to avoid a fall out ahead of the last General Election. “Coming at a time ODM is being revamped after it acquired new leadership, Raila will try to ensure the party remains united in preparation for the 2017 General Election, and to them, the Homa Bay by-election could be a litmus test,” explained Maseno University don Tom Mboya.
Other than the Raila factor, there are the youthful ODM legislators from the region dubbed Young Turks, also perceived to be ODM rebels, who sourcesz reveal, plan to throw their weight behind one candidate to test their political might in the region.
At Kajwang’s burial two weeks ago, Raila pointed out that the seat would not necessarily go to Kajwang’s family, clan or neighborhood. “It is not a matter of a particular family or region, Kajwang’s successor must be able to fit in the position the senator occupied in ODM,” Raila had said, a statement that has left many of his supporters wondering who he believes is suitable to inherit Kajwang’s political constituency.
ODM national chairman John Mbadi says the Monday nomination exercise will be transparent: “Proper strategies have been laid out to ensure that the process is free and fair and nobody has plans to influence the outcome of the exercise.”
Contest of allies
On Wednesday, the party announced that it had opted for the delegates system instead of the poll open to all party members due to the “short notice” given by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) for parties to nominate their candidates, “which compromises our ability to carry out nominations by universal suffrage”.
Making the contest more interesting is the fact that it has brought Raila’s longtime friends and allies together, and observers will be keen to note how they will fair during nominations.
Caroli Omondi, a contestant, joined Raila’s campaign team during the 2007 General Election after he quit his job as a legal officer with United Nation. He was also part of the Serena talk as a joint Secretary that ended the 2007/08 election violence and was appointed Raila’s Chief of Staff in the Coalition Government.
Silas Jakakimba, also an aspirant, was another Raila handler, who served as his personal assistant. Another contestant, Phillip Okundi, is Raila’s longtime friend and one of the key funders of ODM. At one point Raila appointed him the Director of ODM National Elections Board.
Moses Kajwang is brother of the late senator and is related to Ruaraka MP TJ Kajwang’, who sits in the ODM legal committee and is also Raila’s legal advisor.
The Raila associates will battle it out with other aspirants including Kenya Professional Boxing Commission Chairman Hillary Alila who was second to Kajwang’ in the 2013 elections, former National Social Security Fund Managing Trustee Fred Rabongo, Kasipul politician Kenneth Kambona, and businessmen George Mboya and Innocent Masara.
The IEBC had set February 2, 2015 as the date for the mini-poll with political parties given up to December 19 to nominate their flag bearers.
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