How Owalo entry in elective politics is causing MORE jitters in post-Odinga Luo realignment. The grand entry of Eliud Owalo, former campaign aide of Raila Odinga is causing jitters among first time Luo MPs who view Owalo as a direct threat to their survival in Luo politics. When Raila lost in the March elections elections, several first time, and a few second time Luo Mps started coalescing around Nairobi Governor Dr. Evans Kidero whom they believed would automatically rise to take over from Odinga. At that point, Raila had maintained studious silence on his future in politics, and, according to several sources, had avoided all talk on him in so far as politics was concerned. As the Kidero group became more daring, with each weekend holding harambees in several parts of Nyanza, the ‘oldies’ around Odinga, and a few newcomers who still viewed him as a force to reckon with were getting weary of the silence from their boss. The anti-Raila group had vocal MPs Millie Odhiambo, Silvanus Osele, Ken Obura, Agostino Netto, Ken Okoth, Hon. Ochieng’, Rangwe’s George Oner, among others. This group had their loyalties fast shifting to either Kidero or Rongo MP Dalmas Otieno. Interestingly, these two teams had a bone to pick with a team of seasoned politicians always with Raila such as Otieno Kajwang’ of Homa Bay, Paul Otuoma, Oparanya, Anyang’ Nyong’o, James Orengo, and Elizabeth Ongoro. Also in the ‘Raila groupies’, as those around Odinga were being derisively referred to, included Opiyo Wandayi and Homa Bay Women Representative Gladys Wanga. Suna East MP Junet Mohammed was also among the faces sticking their necks out for Odinga. Eliud Owalo, the former campaign aide of Odinga, is on full gear. Several sources around Mr. Odinga say that Mr. Owalo – who has already declared interest in Kibra constituency come 2017 – is among a few individuals whom Odinga turns to to get things done ‘in a hurry’. It is this closeness that has seen first time MPs who had technically decamped make an about turn to the fold, many to save themselves from political oblivion in 2017, few with real chances of return to national parliament on ODM ticket. Though not an MP, Owalo is a powerful force in Odinga’s inner circle. He adds to the CORD leader his own long years of personal connections to key political players in the country, plus invaluable international contacts.Those in the know indicate Owalo is an aggressive go-getter who pursues any initiative he believes in without being prodded to do so. Just recently, media reports indicated that Odinga alongside Owalo held a lengthy meeting with Bomet Governor Isaac Rutto over the referendum, a meeting which is believed was meant to plan for the potential of a compromise of the two teams for a single referendum onslaught ahead of 2017.Eliud Owalo would later write a masterpiece on the Daily Nation headlined Merger of Okoa Kenya and Pesa Mashinani the sensible thing to do t.co/jChouiNr1w The latest example of knowing how the two relate, at the peak of the Magerer incident and anticipated Kalenjin backlash,Odinga quickly phoned Owalo, to bring on board his longtime allies and Riftvalley Pointmen namely Mr. Ronald Arap Ngeny ODM Chairman Bomet County and his Uasin Gishu counterpart Mr. Kipkorir Arap Menjo .Eliud Owalo, as you can see in the photo attached, would later meet them in a famous joint in Nairobi and have them, for the first time, address a public rally at Jacaranda Grounds, Embakasi central on Sunday,where the two Rift Valley leaders were jubilantly received by the crowd. This didnt seem to go well with the aforementioned MPs.... So intense is the behind-the-scenes machinations that a plot to cut Owalo down to size was recently hatched; where he was accused of bungling Raila Odinga campaign when he served as head of the Raila Odinga 2013 presidential campaign secretariat. This came to the fore when Owalo heightened his political activities in Kibra constituency, the slummy heartland of pro- Odinga city politics. Owalo had to counter by a spirited publicity campaign with facts which led to respected journalist and long time Odinga advisor Sarah Elderkin aptly clarifying the role Owalo played in the 2013 elections and shifting blame to former chief of staff Caroli Omondi. The issue was the manner in which campaign agents were procured and paid. While many believe it is Owalo who was in charge of everything regarding Odinga 2013 campaigns, certain key functions were being undertaken by Caroli, then a powerful office of the Prime Minister staffer. Caroli would set up a parallel campaign centre and manage billions of shillings and resources, some of which ended up in his accounts. Soon after Odinga lost the presidency, Omondi applied to join the Jubilee administration as a principal secretary but was rejected, thanks to William Ruto’s ‘vengeance politics’.Later, Caroli hatched another futile attempt to zone off South Nyanza to lock Raila out of it and ‘give it’ to Kidero.Omondi,in liaison with the aforementioned Mps(Millie, Oner,Okoth, etc) would later organize for kidero to be crowned a suba elder . A lot of money went into it. But it too failed. While it is becoming apparent that Owalo – who is fairly moneyed – will most likely take Kibra, his close handlers are livid about what next, and, whether their man is positioning himself, or being positioned, by Odinga, to ‘take over’
Posted on: Mon, 03 Nov 2014 16:52:21 +0000
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