Senator Obure ditches ODM for Jubilee, to vie for governor

Kisii Senator Chris Obure has officially abandoned his party, the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) and said he will seek a Jubilee Party (JP) ticket to run for governor.

Obure said he had been pushed out of ODM, but has found a new political home in Jubilee.

“Everybody must have a home at any given time. I have joined the right team and we will not stop at anything, but victory in the 2017 General Election,” he said on Thursday after a JP meeting in Kisii town,.

The meeting was the first after the election of Jubilee interim officials who will spearhead party affairs in Kisii County.

Sources within JP indicated that there could be cracks in the party caused by the bad blood between Kisii Deputy Governor Joash Maangi and Kisii branch secretary Samuel Nyangeso who stayed away from the media briefing after attending the meeting.

Nyangeso played a critical role in the 2013 General Election as the United Republican Party (URP) Kisii coordinator. Interim party branch chairman Sam Nyairo downplayed the differences, saying their main interest was to ensure they get majority seats and votes for the Jubilee presidential candidate, Uhuru Kenyatta.

“We are up to the task. We are starting work immediately and we want to ensure that the party is felt in the nine constituencies across the county,” Mr Nyairo said.

Nyanza Jubilee Party campaign chairman Charles Nyachae said although they regret Prof Sam Ongeri’s decision to support an ODM candidate in the Kisii governor’s race, they respect his decision.

“We could have wanted him to be with us, but currently our energies will be focused on engaging with the people. This is the nature of politics and we must respect everybody’s democratic right. Our interest is to unite all leaders in Jubilee Party,” Nyachae said.

“We no longer need to be in the Opposition as a community. We have gone across the county and had a conversation with the people. Their wish is that they should be part of the next government,” he added.

The interim officials will have a uphill task to unite JP members, some of whom felt that they were short-changed during the grassroots polls for interim office bearers.

The region is considered predominantly Opposition turf, having voted overwhelmingly for CORD’s Raila Odinga in 2013.

The Opposition has maintained that it still controls the region and Jubilee will not get majority votes because of its unfulfilled development pledges.

Those giving dissenting opinions within the Jubilee Party in Kisii feel they have been left out in decision-making, yet they have been loyal party members since 2013.