KICKING UP A STORM: A man disrupts the ODM elections at Safaricom Stadium Kasarani during the party?s NDC on Friday.
IT WASN'T ME: ababu Namambwa in Kitengela yesterday. He was later joined by mp Joseph Nkaissery and mombasa governor Hassan Joho.
Claims have been made that party leader Raila Odinga or his close allies organised the Friday chaos to scuttle the ODM elections at Kasarani gymnasium.
The party’s National Governing Council chaired by Raila is scheduled to meet today to decide on the way forward for ODM. The NGC is likely going to install interim officials after the various posts were declared vacant shortly before the chaos erupted on Friday.
Yesterday, Prof Amukoa Anangwe, who teaches political science at Dodoma University, said the chaos could have been stage managed by Raila’s camp after they sensed that the former Prime Minister's preferred line-up of candidates was going to be defeated.
Anangwe, who once served as Butere MP, said the “goons in black suits” were organised by a faction allied to Raila to disrupt the exercise and preempt a takeover of ODM leadership by people they perceive to be "not so loyal" to the party leader.
The so-called "not so loyal" faction includes Budalang'i MP Ababu Namwamba, who is running for secretary general, Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho (deputy party leader) and Turkana Governor Josephat Nanok (chairman).
Nairobi county ODM chairman George Aladwa had on Saturday held a press conference to warn Raila that the party was about to be taken away from him. He said the Namwamba and Joho team should instead leave ODM. "ODM belongs to the Prime Minister," Aladwa said.
Anangwe spoke even as ODM candidates said to be favoured by Raila including Funyula MP Paul Otuoma (chairman) Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya (deputy party leader) nominated Senator Agnes Zani (secretary general), Homa Bay Senator Otieno Kajwang (vice chairman) held a press conference where they said they will not allow ODM "to be taken away". The group claimed that it was Ababu’s camp that orchestrated Friday’s chaos.
“We are convince that it is this group's military formation that disrupted our otherwise peaceful elections as the violence started with disagreements over their line up,” Zani said. Kajwang said those who claim he is among those who orchestrated the violence should forward the information to the police.
The group demanded that the party’s secretariat to identify the “men in black” since it was its responsibility alongside the Elections Board, to organise the elections.
“It is the secretariat that planned the whole exercise and facilitated access into the stadium. They facilitated people who were not supposed to be there,” Zani said.
“ODM is a national party and we will not allow it to be taken over by the 'old enemies' through proxies. True ODMers, arise and defend the party,” said Otuoma on Twitter.
The Ababu group has argued that it received overwhelming support from delegates at Kasarani last Friday and hence should be allowed to take over as party officials. The team was widely cheered at Kasarani, an indication that it was going to carry the day.
A group of men dressed in black suits however disrupted the process at the start of voting destroying some of the ballot boxes and ballot papers. This forced the outgoing secretary general Anyang Nyong'o to call off the elections indefinitely.
Yesterday, speaking at a church in Kitengela, Ababu said his camp had nothing to do with the chaos. “Those who sent goons to Kasarani are known and we are waiting for them to be taken to account the mess they caused. They will have to take full responsibility for their actions. We are also ready for a repeat election anytime and anywhere only if we are assured those goons will not be brought back," Ababu said. He dismissed those who have threatened to take him to court over the Friday fracas.
ODM executive director Magerer Langat said youths believed to be allied to Aladwa forced their way into Kasarani gymnasium and caused the fracas. “I saw prominent persons giving them money to share before and after the fracas,” Langat said on Saturday.
“I saw others carrying water branded with a candidate’s name and every time they accessed the gymnasium they never left and their numbers kept building. I reported this case for directions but I was never given answers,” he said.
The Ababu team has claimed that Aladwa, together with former Makadara MP Reuben Ndolo and Ruaraka MP TJ Kajwang organised the hooligans. The three have denied the claims. “Ababu must prove his weird allegations because I was at Kasarani as a candidate just like him,” Aladwa said yesterday. He threatened to take legal action against the Budalang'i legislator.
Speaking separately, nominated MP Isaac Mwaura denied any role in the violence. Mwaura, who was standing on the table before the violence erupted, said his only problem was the preferred list of candidates which was dished out to delegates over lunch.
“I know nothing about the violence nor the men in black. That is not my problem. My problem is with the pre-rigging that was taking place inside the polling station. Whoever distributed the list committed an electoral offence,” he said.
“I registered my complaint with the elections board at the polling station and I will pursue it further today at the NGC,” Mwaura said when he visited the Star office yesterday.
Last week, speaking after a meeting chaired by Raila at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Foundation in Upper, Aladwa told off Joho and Ababu, accusing them of being used by external forces to scuttle the party polls.
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