That Raila Odinga’s ODM party popularity is fast fading in Migori county is not in doubt.
With the aggressive recruitment drives conducted by the hitherto little-known Omingo Magaras People’s Democratic Party under the care of Migori Governor Okoth Obado, things are quickly going south for ODM and before the cock crows, the party will be history in Migori.
Panic has gripped ODM's rank and file in the county and elected leaders are agitated, amazingly shocked to the core. Obado has certainly pulled a fast one on them.
“Si hata kama ndugu yangu Obado ameamua kujenga Boma yake, si azae watoto wake mwenyewe?”(If my brother Obado has decided to have his own party, why can’t he recruit his fresh members?) Dr Pamela Odhiambo, the county woman rep, said in reference to PDP's massive recruitment of ODM members.
PDP supporters have been on the prowl, poaching members from the ODM party.
"We are receiving ODM members in droves. They are tired of the party’s dictatorship,” Kidi Kibudi, who acts as the PDP's secretary general, in a video shot.
PDP has held several meetings in Migori with potential aspirants for various seats, mapping strategies on how to capture seats in the county in the 2022 General Election.
Those close to party honchos say they are confident of fielding candidates in all the 40 wards, eight constituencies, the Senate, woman rep and governor positions, aiming to bag all of them.
“We have a strong network, ground command and master of the county’s political nitwits to launch an internecine war never seen here before," one of them said.
Political pundits said Obado has the wherewithal to bag most of the seats in the county in 2022, through the PDP, a vehicle that will give him leverage in national politics and a seat at the table with equals in sharing of the national cake.
It’s no longer at ease with diehard ODM fanatics in the streets of Migori town. There is no longer speaking in low tones about the anticipated death of ODM in the county.
It’s a sad story for Baba's party as the foot soldiers of yesteryear have been revolutionised. The youth commonly referred to as sangwenyas are evidently radicalised. They speak ill of ODM with impunity.
Save for Kuria West subcounty where a few diehard ODM party followers reminisce with nostalgia, their once-vibrant political party, Luo Migori, is awash with talk of change, liberation and Mamlaka Kwa Wananchi (Power to the People), PDP's slogan.
Kuria East sub county is a haven for the newly formed UDA. The constituency MP, Kitayama Maroa Maisori, is a close associate of Deputy President William Ruto.
ODM members have had to put up with 'this and that' argument, ridicule here, and sometimes insult there from PDP enthusiasts along the alleys of Migori town.
Boda boda sheds, M-Pesa kiosks, taxi driver idling points and citizen parks are all embroiled in heated discussions about PDP liberating Luo Nyanza.
County government workers have not been left behind. They have taken joined in the fray. They pull no punches in letting all and sundry know on which side their bread is battered. From all cadres, they walk, talk and dance PDP. It's certainly all systems go for the otherwise nondescript PDP in Migori.
There are more than 6,000 employees of the county government spread across the eight subcounties. They all owe allegiance to Governor Obado.
The strong army of government workers helped Obado overwhelming win the 2017 gubernatorial race against the now senator Ochillo Ayacko who ran as an independent. Obado was first elected in 2013 on a PDP ticket, defeating ProfEdward Oyugi who ran on an ODM ticket.
A couple of months ago, ODM mandarins sought to remove Obado through an impeachment motion. The plot failed miserably after Baba's party failed to garner numbers in the assembly.
The motion was never introduced in the floor of the house as the assembly became a battleground, pitting the few ODM legislators in support of impeachment and those against. ODM however has majority of MCAs.
And in the mix of the impeachment razzmatazz, Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya visited Obado in his palatial home at Rapogi. Coincidentally, PDP owner Omingo Magara also joined.
No official communication over the intention of the visit was given though tongues wagged that Oparanya could have been on a party fishing expedition.
Oparanya is the ODM deputy party leader who has declared his intention to vie for presidency in 2022. He was accompanied by 16 members of his assembly and members of the Luhya Council of Elders.
All Migori MCAs attended, including Speaker Boaz OKoth.
Matiko Bohoko is a director of the Concord media consultancy based in Migori.
(Edited by V. Graham)
