Non-natives in Kisumu county have announced plans to field candidates for elections, sparking a fresh round of political rivalry between Governor Jack Ranguma and Deputy Governor Ruth Odinga. This is after Odinga and some MCAs attended a meeting convened by the non-natives in Kisumu town.
Ranguma and his allies opposed the meeting, which they said is aimed at removing him next year. He said such meetings will cause disunity by dividing residents along clan and tribal lines. During the Sunday meeting called the Kisumu County Diaspora Forum at the Vunduba Hotel, leaders and residents criticised the exclusion of non-natives from job appointments. They said 90 per cent of county jobs are given to people from Ranguma’s Kano clan.
Fairness and equality
Forum chairman Milton Obote said they are not fighting Rasanga but they want fair distribution of jobs and resources. He said they have more than 4,000 members and will open branches across Nyanza. Obote was accompanied by members Ken Akoko, Maurice Onono, Edward Ogola and coordinator Audi Ogada and George Kopalo.
Kopalo said they are championing the rights of non-indigenous residents, who contribute more than 50 per cent of the county revenue. Ogola said the ‘outsiders’ have more than 158,000 votes and should not be sidelined. “We are voters, taxpayers and investors in Kisumu and therefore it is high time we come together to have a stake in the county government come 2017,” he said.
Odinga, MCAs Fred Ouda, Gabriel Amolo, James Were, Paul Achayo, Priscah Misachi and former deputy mayor Onyango Radier were present. The leaders said they must have a stake in the next government. They said they will push for equal distribution of resources and jobs. More than 500 residents attended.