•Odinga said on Thursday he launched a mass action call against Ruto and his administration.
•The team was first hosted by Migori senator Eddy Oketch at his home in Omboo village
Image: FILE
Azimio la Umoja leader Raila Odinga on Friday moved in to quell rebellion from his Nyanza backyard a day after announcing mass action against President William Ruto's government.
Odinga said on Thursday he launched a mass action call against Ruto and his administration and is not afraid and will not be cowed.
“Ever since I made the call I have seen threats, first Raila Odinga is not afraid and Kenyan won’t be cowed until our demands are met,” Odinga said.
He called on his Nyanza backyard to remain firm and steadfast.
“We are in struggle and are chasing our stolen cow by a rustler, we are not backing off,” Odinga said.
Odinga, accompanied by his deputy in the August 9 general election Martha Karua were in Migori county to drum up support amid a rebellion by two of his party legislators against his stance against the government.
The team was first hosted by Migori senator Eddy Oketch at his home in Omboo village in Uriri constituency before they had a rally at Migori town Posta grounds.
Oketch and governor Ochillo Ayacko have been receiving political backlash from Uriri MP Mark Nyamita and his Rongo counterpart Paul Abuor who are facing disciplinary action by the ODM party for a State House visit.
Nyamita skipped the meeting at Oketch’s home which is in his constituency while Abuor skipped it too.
“We have rebels who have been insisting they are in the ODM party and opposition, we are not seeing them here and I and Oketch did not send them away,” Ayacko said in reference to Nyamita and Abuor.
Image: MANUEL ODENY
“We want to say that anybody who is not with us here, will continue missing ahead of the next elections,” Ayacko said.
Nyamita and Abuor have been defiant and unapologetic over their State House visit with President William Ruto in public functions including a chaotic one on Sunday at a funeral in Magongo village.
On Thursday, Abuor in a tour of his constituency took a swipe at Ayacko and the ODM leadership over his visit to State House.
“Since Ayacko was elected he has done no development even the media has highlighted it, the only thing he thinks about is us going to the State House,” Abuor said.
The legislator said he was politically comfortable with his decision to go to the State House since in Rongo, he was the area kingpin.
On Sunday, Nyamita repeated the same remarks accusing Ayacko of using their State House visit to mask his lack of development.
Suna West MP Peter Masara said ahead of Friday's meeting that they will now allow those who have betrayed Raila and the Luo community by dining with Ruto to State House from ‘disrupting’ the Friday meeting.
“We know of leaders who went to State House and have been unleashing violence and attacking others in Functions like what happened on Sunday in Uriri. We won't sit back and see our unity being misused,” he said during a funeral in his constituency on Thursday.
Other leaders present during the function included Martha Karua, Jeremiah Kioni, and Narok senator Ledama Ole Kina among other leaders.