Aspirants in dilemma as ODM picks candidate for Homa Bay senate race

The criteria of picking a candidate for the Homa Bay Senatorial seat left vacant by the death of Otieno Kajwang’ presents a dilemma to the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) ahead of tomorrow’s nomination.

Complicating the matter is the fact that the party lacks a clear leadership structure in the county, igniting debate on list of delegates to participate in the nomination.

On Wednesday, the party announced a nomination would be conducted by delegates from the county due to the “short notice” given by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) for parties to name their candidates, “which compromises our ability to carry out nominations by universal suffrage”.

In the arrangement, 198 delegates to take part in the process will be drawn from all the eight constituencies in the county, the nine Members of National Assembly, the 48 Members of the County Assembly and the governor.

IEBC set February 2 as the date for the mini-poll, with political parties given until December 19 to conduct party primaries and present their flag bearers.

ODM has a keen interest in who succeeds Kajwang’, owing to the slippery political landscape in South Nyanza, which is home to most of the perceived party rebels.

No wonder some political leaders in the region had approached former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who is also the party leader, to vie for the senatorial position. Raila turned down the suggestion.

Fearing that the nomination could be manipulated, the aspirants are against the delegate system, saying voters should be allowed to decide who vies for the seat.

Financial muscle

Eight aspirants have publicly declared their quest for the seat. They include Kenya Professional Boxing Commission chairman Hillary Alila, who came second to Kajwang’ in last year’s election, former National Social Security Fund Managing Trustee Fred Rabongo, former Raila aides Silas Jakakimba and Caroli Omondi.

Others include Moses Kajwang’, brother of the late Senator, former Rangwe MP Philip Okundi, Kasipul politician Kenneth Kambona, businessmen George Mboya and Innocent Masara.

Observers argue the opportunity could provide a window for Raila to reward one of his four associates, but also explain that other factors such as financial muscle, and clannism could influence the outcome of the nomination.

Jakakimba is one of those who maintain the nomination should not be conducted by a “few party delegates at the expense of voters”.

“This is a crucial exercise that should not be left in the hands of a selected few. The party should have granted a wider mandate to the voters to pick the flag bearer,” he told The Standard on Sunday.

Alila, seen as a front runner after garnering 60,000 votes against Kajwang’s 240,000 in the last election, also supports involving voters.

“If the party is for the delegates method, then all delegates in the constituencies should have been involved, not just 20 per constituency,” Alila said.

Former Sony Sugar board chairman Herbert Ojwang’, also rumoured to be eyeing the seat, pointed out that the party should not infringe democratic rights of Homa Bay residents.

“We want the party to conduct proper nominations through a popular initiative, where all voters are involved to decide the suitable candidate to fly the party’s flag in the by-election,” he said.

The uncertainty has thrown the strategies of some of aspirants into disarray, with some hinting at either joining other parties or vying independently.

Kasipul politician Odoyo Owidi, who had earlier declared interest in the seat but later pulled out, explained: “There are people in the team (candidates) capable of buying all delegates and yet there are also better leaders among them who don’t have the financial muscle.

“The delegates are also likely to act under instructions from the party leadership to pick its preferred candidate.”

The family of the late Homa Bay senator said they are firmly behind Moses Kajwang’.

“Moses is equal to the task and all of us have thrown our weight behind him,” family spokesman Joe Kajwang’, another brother of the late Otieno, said.

On Wednesday, four aspirants launched their bids separately in Homa Bay, despite the concerns over the nominations.

Already, there are reports of two parallel lists of delegates associated to the two rival camps at the branch. One group wants the nomination to be done based on the list ODM used during the 2011 party nominations while the other is demanding a new delegates list.

The late Kajwang’ led one group of party officials, currently headed in an acting capacity by Monica Amolo, while former Rangwe MP Martin Ogindo leads a rival group.

On Wednesday, Ogindo paraded a team he claimed were the true party branch officials, including Karachuonyo MP James Rege (secretary general) and Kasipul politician Charles Ongondo (vice chairperson).

“We were validly elected into office and we are spearheading the agenda of the party at the Homo Bay branch. The people have the destiny of nominating who becomes the party flag bearer and nobody else should influence the exercise,” said Ogindo.

Transparency

But speaking to The Standard on Sunday, Amollo who is acting as branch chairperson, described the rival faction as imposters not recognised by the party top brass.

“We will not accept those who want to divert the party’s attention from this important course of conducting nominations. We are fully in charge and will ensure the process is conducted in a transparent manner,” she said.

On Thursday, the eight aspirants converged at the party headquarters in Nairobi to resolve the differences over the delegate list ahead of tomorrow’s exercise.

ODM national chairman John Mbadi said the rivalry between the two factions would not affect the nomination, as the party had laid out proper mechanisms. “The genuine delegates’ list is with the elections board and the party secretariat,” said the Suba MP.

As ODM braces for a grueling contest tomorrow, the President’s The National Alliance (TNA) party on Thursday held a National Oversight Board meeting to discuss the upcoming by-election.

Secretary general Onyango Oloo said five contenders had approached TNA for tickets, adding that the party had come up with modalities to choose a candidate for the mini-poll. “We are going to vet them before we decide on who to become our flag bearer,” Mr Oloo said.

With most contenders for the senatorial seat coming from the greater Suba block, made up of Mbita and Suba constituencies and the larger Homa Bay Town, which covers Rangwe and Ndhiwa constituencies, the outcome of the nomination exercise is likely to be decided by the greater Rachuonyo area comprising Karachuonyo, Kabondo Kasipul and Kasipul constituencies, which so far has only one aspirant.

Aware of this fact, most contenders have concentrated their efforts in the greater Rachuonyo area, meeting delegates and mobilising residents to back their bid.