Oburu in trouble as Senate competitors go for his jugular

It will not be a walk in the park on August 9 for EALA MP Oburu Oginga as competitors throng the Siaya senatorial race.

Oburu is one of the beneficiaries of a direct ticket by the Orange Democratic Movement.

Two aspirants who had initially angled for the ODM flag were aggrieved when the party picked Oburu under unclear circumstances.

The two, Julius Okinda and Tony Yogo, are running on the Federal Party of Kenya and as independent, respectively. 

The other contender is James Wamban of Movement for Democracy and Growth.

Yogo, 40, has insisted that he shall be on the ballot because ODM denied him an audience with the party leader Raila Odinga.

“Immediately after we realised that the party was to issue a direct ticket to Oburu, we sought audience with Odinga for clarifications but cartels circumvented our plea. We have never received any explanation,” Yogo said.

In a letter from the Registrar of Political Parties seen by the Star, Yogo was on Monday cleared to vie as an independent candidate.

Yogo, who comes from Rarieda subcounty, believes Oburu cannot make a good senator due to his age and closeness to Siaya Senator James Orengo.

Orengo also received a direct ticket for the governor race.

“We are in the 21st century where everything has been digitalised and Oburu is not the best because he is almost an octogenarian,” he said.

He pointed out that after failure by the ODM to give the people a fair chance to choose their next senator at the primaries, many voters are  dejected.

“The ODM is pushing wazees down the throats of Siaya people. We have Orengo, Oburu and Christine Ombaka (Women Rep nominee) who are old people,” Yogo said.

He believes that the young people of Siaya who were denied a chance at the ballot will give him a chance to be their senator.

Okinda, who hails from Gem subcounty, was equally rattled by ODM and has insisted he will vie in the August polls.

He said people should not vote in leaders based on whether they are ODM or not because the party bungled its own nominations.

"It is shocking that ODM has gone against its philosophy of democracy and is actually taking our region into dictatorship," Okinda said.

"Without proper nominations, ODM has no business talking about six-piece voting."

He said he is a person of integrity unlike Oburu who he blames for underdevelopment in Siaya.

"He influenced the election of Governor Cornell Rasanga, who has failed to deliver development," he said.

Okinda, 53, however believes that age is not a major factor for the governor race.

Gem political analyst Jonah Owuor said Okinda will harvest votes from Gem now that ODM has equally frustrated their MP Elisha Odhiambo.

“Our people now believe that there is no democracy in ODM and they will vote whoever they want. The most disadvantaged in this arithmetic are Orengo, Oburu and ODM,” Owuor said.

Odhiambo won the Gem parliamentary seat nominations through universal suffrage but his ticket was cancelled by the party.

Wamban said his party is lobbying for fish, rice, cotton and sugar development funds for Nyanza.

He also said if elected the MDG will push for the establishment of a financial institution for the entire Nyanza region.

“ODM party does not believe in economic development. It is a policy of MDG to develop our region economically. This is why I want to be the senator of Siaya,” Wamban said.

During his senatorial seat campaign launch, Oburu said that the senate is not a football pitch where only the young and energetic are supposed play.

This, he said, in reference to critiques who argue that he is old and should retire from active politics.

Yogo said the independent aspirants are not the enemies of Raila.

“Proponents of the six-piece narrative for ODM should think again. Our people are annoyed” Yogo said.

(Edited by Tabnacha O)