Has Jubilee ‘infiltrated’ ODM ahead of elections?

Moses Wetangula, Raila Odinga and Kalonzo Musyoka at a rally

By counties team

The Orange Democratic movement (ODM) is headed to the polls later this mnth as it shadowboxes with the ruling Jubilee coalition over alleged plans to wreck former Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s party.

From Nyanza, where the party enjoys the biggest support, to the Coast, ODM has been pointing accusing fingers at President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Jubilee coalition.

The party’s executive Director Magerer Langat says the party has been infiltrated by their rival to create indiscipline.

“It is important that we hold the elections to revamp the party and make it more viable,” he says.

Magerer, however, maintains that the polls will be an ODM affair and says the party will strictly vet the candidates for various positions to weed out Jubilee moles.

Interestingly, Magerer says a number of those who were out to wreck the party have quietly opted out of the race after their schemes were unearthed.

“Someone like Dalmas Otieno (Rongo MP) collected the nomination papers but has not returned them. He has since opted out of the race,” says Magerer who is the party’s custodian of the list of delegates and in charge of issuing and receiving nomination papers.

The former Kipkelion MP says a possible fall-out looms, with losers expected to troop to other parties.

In Nyanza, all those who have voiced opposition to the positions favoured by party leader have been branded as sympathetic to Jubilee’s ‘plan’ to wreck ODM.

Kabondo-Kasipul MP Oyugi Magwanga has accused the party’s opponents of brewing propaganda with the aim of splitting the party.

He admitted that a section of leaders from Nyanza region have been looking into forming another political party to counter ODM but he warns that the idea will not succeed.

“Let us use the past to define the future since nobody will form a political party in the region and go anywhere. Those who tried it remained in the cold until they were rescued,” says Magwanga.

Magwanga was referring to Orengo and Nyong’o who severed links with Raila years back but came back to the fold after many years in the political cold.

Magwanga accused the main party’s opponent, Jubilee Coalition for being part of the woes facing ODM. He said those who want to move out of ODM eye lucrative offers in the government which may not come true after they leave the party.

He blamed the ‘young Turks’ of being over ambitious making the party appear as if there are rifts between the leaders.

At the coast, a plan by leading politicians to form a regional political party have been ridiculed by ODM. Critics of the push for a regional party have compared it to the revival of Shirikisho party during former President Mwai Kibaki’s tenure.

“Coast politics have always been influenced by outside forces. The renewed efforts to form a Coast region party is viewed in that context,” said Dr Owen Baya, former Pwani University lecturer.

He said given that Coast region votes have always tilted election results, it was likely that the country’s main political players were keen to lure it through promises of post-election coalition.

Efforts to unite the Coast region and formation of the political party are being spearheaded by Kilifi North MP Gideon Mung’aro and Kilifi County Governor Amason Kingi.

Some Coast region leaders are now reading mischief on the new efforts, given they are coming against the backdrop of perceived shift of party allegiance by some local political leaders from CORD to the ruling coalition Jubilee.

Propaganda

Maimuna Mwidau, human rights and women’s affairs activist in Coast region said Jubilee coalition was behind the party. She said that the proponent of the idea first announced the plans during a function that was presided over the deputy president William Ruto.

“Those behind the Coast-based party and purporting to unite the Coast communities have failed to explain to us (locals) what their agenda is after that unity. It is clear there is a hidden agenda being pushed by other forces,” she said.

Mwidau said though Coast unity was a noble idea, the timing was suspect given it came up when the Jubilee leadership had visited the region.

“To bring people under one political banner it would require more than flimsy declaration or a hasty political decision.  We have had such declarations but they have not yielded fruits,” she said.

But Munga’ro refuted the claims saying that the talk that jubilee was behind the idea was “propaganda from those against the unity of the Coast people.”

“Currently we are uniting our people and we are on the ground to preach the need for the unity and those who don’t want to see the region united are behind the propaganda that some forces are  behind the idea,” said Mung’aro in a recent interview.

William Ating’a, the party’s coordinator in central rift region, admits that it will be challenging for ODM to navigate the murky waters of party elections especially at the time when it is seen as a threat to the governing Jubilee coalition.

“We cannot rule out plans by jubilee to infiltrate ODM during the election but we are determined to go ahead with the elections,” says Ating’a.

But a section of TNA MPs in Rift Valley have rubbished the allegation that Jubilee had infiltrated ODM ahead of the party polls.

“Jubilee is not interested with what is happening in ODM, we are in government and our duties and mandate is to fulfill the jubilee manifesto and not medal in ODM affairs. ODM has its own problem and it should focus on sorting them out,” said Molo MP Jacob Macharia.

Bahati MP Kimani Ngunjiri says Jubilee has no business in ODM affairs and points at the recent opinion poll that indicated the Raila Odinga led party was losing its popularity.

Referring to an opinion poll carried out by Strategic Africa PR firm, Ngunjiri predicted that ODM was bound to lose more popularity going by the way the party was handling the forthcoming party elections.

“The ODM party elections will be the last nail in the coffin, that party has outlived its usefulness and it is pointless for anyone to point an accusing finger at Jubilee,” said Ngunjiri.