Rattled by DAP, Raila moves to quell rivalries

Azimio La Umoja presidential aspirant Raila Odinga is from today expected to camp in Western Kenya in a bid to contain simmering sibling rivalry between two key members of his nascent coalition.

Raila is expected to quell the apparent bad blood between the Development Action Party (DAP)-Kenya associated with Defence Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa and his Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) that are currently embroiled in a superiority contest.

For the past month, the fast-growing Wamalwa-led party has caused discomfort among ODM heavyweights in the region that has been Raila’s political bastion in previous elections, as it made inroads and received high-profile defectors from the Orange party.

Sources say that besides moving to defuse the apparent tension between ODM and DAP-K, the former Prime Minister is also scheduled to “lure” back some of his former bigwigs who had decamped to Wamalwa’s party.

Raila is today scheduled to begin a five-day tour of the region with the first stop in Teso North and Teso South in Busia county, before moving to Kakamega the following day in a tour described by ODM leaders as meant to “reclaim the region that has been taken over by DAP-Kenya”.

Opposition leader’s allies claim that DAP-K, which had been touted as the former premier’s secret project to tame Moses Wetangula’s Ford Kenya and Musalia Mudavadi’s Amani National Congress, has turned out to be a thorn in the flesh for ODM. 

“DAP-K people have not been sincere in their entry into Western. They have a secret agenda to dislodge ODM from the region, and we are aware of that scheme,” said Budalang’i MP Raphael Wanjala.

Raila’s tour is also aimed at neutralising gains made by Deputy President William Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza Alliance that seems to have taken advantage of the infighting between ODM and DAP-K.

Ruto has made several trips to Western region, with his merger with Mudavadi and Wetangula strengthening his hopes of winning more votes in a region with more than 2.2 million votes up for grabs in the August 9 polls.

Kakamega has the largest share at 743,736 voters, Bungoma 559,850, Busia 351,048 and Vihiga 272,409. Trans Nzoia, located in the Rift Valley but with a big Luhya population, has 339,622 votes.

Tomorrow, Raila will kick off his tour in Butere where he is expected to receive area MP Tindi Mwale who has joined the Orange party before moving to the neighbouring Khwisero constituency to welcome local legislature Christopher Aseka to ODM. 

On the same day, he will make stop-overs at Shibuli, Shianda and Matungu where he will officially receive MP Peter Nabulindo, culminating in a major rally at Mumias town.

Massive support

The following day, the ODM leader is expected to spend the day in Shibuye and Musoli in Ikolomani and Navakholo, where he is set to receive local MP Emmanuel Wangwe, also the National Assembly Majority Whip.

On Monday, Raila will be in Likuyani, Pan Paper and Lumakanda in Bungoma and later in Malaga and Kambiri in Kakamega.

ODM leader is scheduled to wind up his tour of the region on Tuesday with a meeting with leaders of affiliate parties under Azimio.

Within the last two months, DAP-K, which is one of the several affiliate Azimio parties supporting Raila’s presidential bid, has been making inroads in Bungoma, Kakamega, Busia, Vihiga and Trans Nzoia, to the chagrin of ODM supremos led by Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya.

Oparanya, the ODM deputy leader, has been Raila’s pointman in Western and calling the shots alongside Cotu Secretary General Francis Atwoli.

DAP-K’s aggressiveness in the five counties that make Western has led to a contest of superiority between Oparanya and Wamalwa, with the former accusing the CS of allegedly being determined to dislodge ODM from a region where it has enjoyed massive support in the past, including in the 2013 and 2017 elections.

“Whereas we welcome everyone on board in Azimio, there must be some respect. Some of these parties cropping up must show ODM respect because it has been there and would survive the test of time to remain in existence,” says Oparanya.

Recent claims by Oparanya that the Raila tour in Western is an ODM affair have also fuelled tension with DAP-K allies now alleging a scheme to cannibalise it in the region.

But while downplaying the issue, DAP secretary general Eseli Simiyu told their ODM partners not to panic since “both of us are simply enhancing Raila’s chances of winning”.

“We are not undermining anybody nor are we competing against them. Our main goal is to look for votes for Baba, so let us stop these other side shows,” Simiyu told People Daily. 

Although DAP-K supports Raila’s presidential bid, it attracted the eye of ODM leaders when it started opening offices in areas perceived to be the latter’s strongholds, thus sparking tension within the nascent coalition.

The opening of offices within ODM strongholds has been accompanied by defection of high-profile elected personalities to the party, among them Kakamega deputy governor Philip Kutima and Nominated Senator Naomi Shiyonga.

Persuade individuals

DAP -K has also attracted former Amani National Congress (ANC) leaders who had initially toyed with the idea of joining ODM after ditching the Mudavadi-led party. These include former National Assembly Speaker Kenneth Marende, Lugari MP Ayub Savula, Nabulindo, Teso South MP Oku Kaunya and Vihiga Senator George Khaniri.

During his tour, sources intimated to People Daily that Raila would persuade individuals such as Kaunya, Wangwe, Mwale and Nabulindo to reconsider their decision to dump ODM.

Wamalwa’s party also bagged former Rift Valley Regional Coordinator George Natembeya to the consternation of ODM that had expected to have him on board to up their profile.

However, Dr Simiyu defends the decision to go for high-profile politicians, particularly those from Kakamega, claiming that it was aimed at stopping them from moving to Kenya Kwanza Alliance.

After attracting high-profile names, DAP-Kenya recently put up a notice inviting eligible candidates interested in vying on its ticket to submit their applications. The only position it will not be fielding a candidate in is the presidency.

Simiyu said parties under Azimio have no formal agreement on how to handle elections or field candidates.