Attempts by Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader Raila Odinga to get his elder brother, Dr Oburu Oginga, to drop his bid for the Siaya Senate seat seems to have hit a brick wall.
Dr Oginga has been under pressure to drop his quest for the seat and focus on the Azimio la Umoja presidential candidate’s campaigns, but the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) member is determined to go all the way to the ballot.
The Nation has established that he met the ODM nomination application deadline last week and is ready to battle it out with architect Julius Okinda (J.T. Okinda) from Gem constituency and Tony Yogo from Bondo in next month’s primaries.
Due to their relationship with the ODM leader, there have been fears that ODM would hand Dr Oginga the Siaya senatorial ticket. The party’s top leadership led by national chairman John Mbadi and Mr Odinga’s wife Ida, also endorsed Dr Oginga when he launched his bid earlier this month.
“As members of Jaramogi Oginga Odinga family, we have no problem with Dr Oburu, since he has managed to steer the family since the death of his father in 1994,” Ms Ida Odinga said during an event at Dr Oginga’s Bondo home.
“He is a forthright person and I know he will always seek your opinion in order for you to make the right decision.”
But the EALA legislator argues that the push to have him bow out of the race was orchestrated by his opponents who have panicked after “sensing defeat”.
“(They) should be prepared for a gruelling battle ahead of next month’s party primaries,” he said.
The 78-year-old politician insists that age is just a number, adding that his relationship with Mr Odinga should be taken positively and not as a tool to fight him.
“As the eldest brother to Mr Odinga, I will have easy access to State House when he succeeds Mr Uhuru Kenyatta. I will be able to ensure that Siaya people are not left out in the distribution of national resources,” he said.
Dr Oginga and Mr Okinda are the front-runners in the race and Mr Odinga is said to have reached out to them to reach a consensus so as to avoid an acrimonious nomination process but this has not worked.
“The party leader has indeed reached out to the two individuals to agree as per the ODM nomination rules but they seem to be adamant. So this leaves us with an elective process as the only option to arrive at the candidate,” an ODM official told the Nation.
He revealed that Dr Oginga and Mr Okinda had indeed held discussions on the matter, including the latter attending the EALA member’s launch of his bid at his Bondo home earlier this month, but they have failed to reach a truce.
Yesterday, Mr Okinda vowed to put up a spirited fight to clinch the ticket.
“I intend to provide effective oversight on all county programmes to ensure prompt implementation of projects at reasonable costs,” Mr Okinda said.
Mr Yogo has also expressed fears that Dr Oginga could be handed a direct ticket to contest in the August 9 General Election.
“Dr Oburu should pave the way for a younger (person) to take over (and) implement a new agenda. Handing him a direct ticket would create voter apathy and work against the presidential bid of Raila Odinga,” said Paul Owiti, a community leader from Rarieda constituency.
Siaya Senator James Orengo, who is gunning for governor’s seat insists that Dr Oginga should not be judged by his relation to Mr Odinga but on his track record.
“In all positions that Dr Oburu has held, nothing has been handed over to him on a silver platter,” he said.
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