By Anderson Ojwang
Cabinet Secretary for the Treasury John Mbadi has swallowed more than he had bargained for and was forced to seek the support of Luo elders to reconcile the community and the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM).
Mbadi, who was at the forefront in calling for the sacking of ODM Secretary General Edwin Sifuna for opposing the pre-election coalition with President William Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA), has eaten humble pie and now wants the factions reconciled.
Mbadi, a former ODM chairman, claimed that Sifuna and his allies have switched their allegiance to the opposition.
The CS said Sifuna and his allies cannot hold ODM hostage to meet their personal interests.
“If someone does not want to agree with ODM policies, that person should be left to go so that we know how many people he is leaving with.
Someone like Sifuna will not remain in ODM because already he is conflicted. He is now selling the agenda of someone else. Why are you pretending? You cannot keep him in the party,” he said.
He said the Central Management Committee should not take too long to act because the secretary general has shown indiscipline to party leader Oburu Oginga.
Mbadi and others’ push to have Sifuna sacked culminated after the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) resolved to relieve the Nairobi senator of the post and replace him with Busia Woman Representative Catherine Omanyo.
However, Sifuna moved to the Political Parties Disputes Tribunal, which gave him a reprieve, and he remains the party secretary general.
In a statement by ODM, the party said: “The Party National Executive Committee meeting in Mombasa today has resolved to relieve Secretary General Edwin Sifuna of his responsibilities with immediate effect.
Effectively, Catherine Omanyo, who is one of the deputy secretaries general, will act in this position until a substantive holder of the office is elected.”
In solidarity with Sifuna was the daughter of former party leader, the late Raila Odinga, EALA MP Winnie Odinga, who wrote on her Facebook page: “It is not well.”
Siaya Governor James Orengo said legally Sifuna remains the party secretary general, as he cannot be removed by those allegedly in office illegally.
“How can you remove a substantive party secretary general while your appointment was an illegality? The plotters are in office illegally and do not have locus standi,” he said.
On Wednesday, Mbadi changed his tune and called for a truce between the two factions to avoid the party splitting further.
“Can you come and tell us why you strongly feel you want to go to the other side and not President Ruto? Come and convince us. This disjointed statement is causing tension,” he said.
Mbadi said the elders were concerned about the emerging division in the party and the community, which they termed unhealthy.
“I met with elders from 17 constituencies in Nairobi and four counties around Nairobi, mainly Machakos, Kiambu, and Kajiado, and they were led by Mzee Tom Odongo.
The elders see unhealthy divisions in ODM. Division in the Luo community spirals into the ODM party and vice versa. The kind of exchanges within the party are not healthy. They do not push the agenda of the community and the party,” he said.
Mbadi’s move comes hot on the heels of the successful Linda Mwananchi rally in Kitengela, where Embakasi East MP Babu Owino and Siaya Governor James Orengo declared that the Linda Ground faction had the party leadership while Linda Mwananchi had the party members.
Babu said last Sunday marked an important moment in the party and defined the two factions.
“Today they have the party, but we have the party members. When they go to State House, do they tell you? They go alone. They are trying to threaten us, but they cannot manage us,” he said.
Orengo said the genuine ODM members were in Kitengela and that those in Mombasa should refund President Ruto his money.
“Watu wa ODM ambao wako Mombasa warudishie Ruto pesa zake. (Those ODM members should refund Ruto his money.) ODM members and leaders are here in Kitengela,” he said.
ODM National Chairperson Governor Gladys Wanga and her entourage were on Tuesday heckled and booed in Ahero and Kendu Bay towns, respectively, over wrangles in the party and pre-election coalition arrangements.
Wanga drove and made a stopover in Ahero Town in what was seen as testing the ground after the failed sacking of Sifuna and differences over the proposed pre-election pact between ODM and President Ruto’s UDA party.
The crowd shouted Babu and Sifuna’s names and chanted: “Wadok e demonstration. Ongee ka uchamo uriambo kendo to duo kuru” (Nothing, nothing—lies, lies. If you ate alone, take it back).
The Sifuna-led Linda Mwananchi faction will be in Kakamega this Saturday, while the Oburu-led Linda Ground faction will be in Siaya Town for parallel rallies.
Mama Ida Odinga recently appealed to the party leadership not to destroy the party and asked them to prioritise dialogue over wrangles to avoid disintegration and preserve Raila’s legacy.
“It is my wish that we can preserve the party in his honour as a matter of service to our country. I want to appeal to those Baba left in the leadership of the party to reflect deeply and sincerely on his dreams for the party and for our country,” she said.
Ida challenged the current leaders in the party to give dialogue a chance and follow Raila’s footsteps in resolving disputes within the party.
“Let us solve the problems of the party by always asking ourselves, what would Baba do under these circumstances?”