Remain loyal to ODM even after primaries, Raila tells members

As multiple aspirants eye the ODM ticket to vie for various elective seats in next year's polls, party leader Raila Odinga is urging members to remain loyal to the outfit.

Raila fears a mass walkout after nominations with losers potentially jumping ship.

On Tuesday, the party leader said should ODM form government, there are many positions into which losers in the primaries can be slotted.

He once again assured party members and supporters that ODM primaries will be free and fair, and urged all members to remain in the party whatever the outcomes of the primaries.

“The most important thing is to be ODM members,” Raila said at a rally in Likoni, Mombasa on Tuesday.

He said there can only be one MCA per ward, one MP per constituency and one senator and governor per county.

“Even if you don’t get the party ticket, stay in the party. That is the only way we can succeed,” he said.

“We have many positions in government. Those who will not be lucky to be nominated will get jobs in government.

“I want you to be loyal and walk with pride that you have a strong party. If we work together, we will succeed.”

This comes as multiple candidates in ODM, especially in Mombasa, jostle for the party ticket to vie for various elective seats.

Mvita MP Abdulswamad Nassir, who has been singing the loyalty song, is battling with Mombasa businessman Suleiman Shahbal—who says he has been loyal to Raila as a person—for the ODM ticket to vie for the Mombasa governor seat.

The battle between the two has seen both parties flexing their political muscles in Mombasa.

In Jomvu, MP Badi Twalib is facing his brother-in-law Abdulrahim ‘Kim Kim’ Kajembe, who ditched UDA for ODM, to vie for the Jomvu seat.

Both Badi and Kim Kim once left the party to join Wiper and UDA respectively but have since come back to the Orange party.

The women rep position in Mombasa has attracted many aspirants with Zamzam Mohamed and Shanzu MCA Maimuna Salim fighting incumbent Asha Hussein for the party ticket to vie for the position.

Raila said for the party to be stronger, internal democracy must be allowed and the best candidates have to be supported by all party members after the primaries.

The ODM leader said with a strong party, it will be easier to achieve the party’s economic plans for the country. He said the time for the third and final liberation of Kenya has come.

The first, he said, brought Independence in Kenya while the second brought the 2010 Constitution.

“The third and the final is the economic one. The time for economic liberation of Kenya has come and it is for the youth,” he said.

Raila said it is about equity and equality where every child born in Kenya should get equal opportunity for education from nursery to university.

“After completing their studies, they should get meaningful jobs according to their qualifications, not a job where they will push a wheelbarrow,” said the former premier.

Raila said his administration will ensure youths get access to government loans to either start up or boost their businesses, with the repayment delayed for at least seven years before the first instalment.

“Every Kenya, whether they have money or not, should get quality healthcare. They should have health insurance. The ones that cannot afford, the government will cater for them,” Raila said amid cheers.

The ODM leader said no Kenyan should sleep hungry, and once again reiterated his pledge of a Sh6,000 monthly stipend for poor households.

He hit out at those discrediting his proposal, saying he knows what he is saying.

“I have been Prime Minister. That is a promise, which is the same as a debt. Those that are not involved should keep off,” Raila said.

“I know where the money is. I know the loopholes they use to steal your money, then they put the money in sacks and come with them to harambees. I will seal all those loopholes.”

However, he said all these cannot be achieved without him having soldiers on the ground.

“To be Baba’s soldier, you have to have a gun and bullets. Your gun is your national ID and your bullet is your voter’s card,” Raila said.

The ODM leader said he already has soldiers in Parliament, naming Likoni MP Mishi Mboko and Nassir as among his most trusted and most powerful soldiers.

Mboko said Raila has fought for the country and is the only solution to the problems it faces.

“He has fought many fights, been detained without trial, but still came out and united the country,” Mboko said.

Although absent due to the passing of four of his staff members, Nassir’s presence was felt, with every time his name was mentioned the crowd giving a loud cheer.

His apologies were passed twice by Mboko and Twalib.

Raila’s allies, including Twalib, Suna East MP Junet Mohamed, Siaya Senator James Orengo, Nakuru Governor Lee Kinyanjui, Ganze MP Tedd Mwambire and Shahbal, urged the youth to register as voters and vote him as the fifth President of Kenya.

“The difference between Baba and known thieves is like day and night. That is why you have to register as voters and vote for Baba,” Junet said.

“This time if it is not Baba, it is Raila. If not Raila, it is Agwambo and if not Agwambo, then it is Jakom," he said.

He criticised the bottom-up economic model fronted by Deputy President William Ruto saying it does not make any sense.

Orengo said only the youth’s vote will take Raila to State House.

“We have closed all doors used to steal votes,” the Siaya Senator said.

Kinyanjui said unemployment will not be solved by sweets dished out by politicians.

“There must be programmes. Baba has programmes in place to ensure jobs are created,”  he said.

"You cannot educate a child and after graduation, you give them a wheelbarrow. It will be an insult."

Twalib said only the country’s biggest thieves proclaim Raila can't achieve economic transformation.

“The Sh6,000 government stipend happens in Denmark, Libya and Egypt. I have faith it will happen in Kenya when Baba becomes President,” Twalib said.

He however said the only weapon to realise this is through the vote. “Let us register as voters and vote for Baba.”

Mwambire said Ruto didn't want Kenya to get a new constitution or devolution, things which Raila fought to have in the country.

“Did we get a new constitution or not? Is there devolution today? What makes them think poor families cannot get Sh6,000? All is possible with Raila,” he said.

Shahbal said Mombasa is already locked and asked Raila to concentrate on other regions. “Do not be worried about Mombasa.” 

He said Raila brought political revolution and this time he will bring an economic one.

“Let us cooperate and bring economic revolution. We need more development projects in Mombasa,” the businessman said.

Raila said those who said he cannot climb the mountain are now feeling the heat. He mocked Ruto, saying a wheelbarrow cannot compete with a tractor in climbing the mountain.

“We are the tractor. Between a tractor and a wheelbarrow, which one will climb the mountain first or faster?” posed Raila.

-Edited by SKanyara