Kenya Power chairman Kenneth Marende (left) with Amani leader Musalia Mudavadi at a past event. FILE PHOTO | JARED NYATAYA | NATION MEDIA GROUP
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Former Speaker of the National Assembly Kenneth Marende has asked members of the Luhya community to quit the Orange Democratic Movement.
According to Mr Marende, a former ODM MP, members of the community might find themselves in the political cold after the 2017 polls unless they reconsider their support for the party.
The former Speaker, who was recently appointed by the Jubilee Administration to chair the Kenya Power board, said Luhyas have failed to use their numerical strength to bargain for a stake in government.
“It is clear that Luhyas have no room in Cord and their support for Raila Odinga in 2017 will be another big mistake,” said Mr Marende at a funeral in Mumias on Sunday.
He said the community had supported Mr Odinga overwhelmingly in the last two presidential elections but ended up in the political cold after he lost.
NEW PARTY
Mr Marende accused the Cord leadership of being preoccupied with campaigning for Mr Odinga to clinch the presidency in 2017, ignoring the interests of voters in regions which backed them in the 2013 election.
The former Speaker lately associates himself with the new United Democratic Party.
Former Lugari MP Cyrus Jirongo and former Housing Minister Soita Shitanda are founders of the new party which is being packaged as the vehicle of the Luyhia nation for the next election.
He said leaders from across the political divide in western Kenya were in consultation on who the community should back for the presidency in 2017.
“Even if we don’t get the presidency, I can assure you we will have our share when the next government is formed and that is what we are focusing on as leaders from the western region,” said Mr Marende.
“That is why we have come up with the United Democratic Party which seeks to unite the communities from western Kenya and ensure they register in large numbers as voters to determine the region’s political future,” said Mr Marende.
He was accompanied by Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale, Mumias East MP Benjamin Washiali, ODM national youth leader Rashid Muhammed and Mahiakalo ward representative Cleophas Malala.
Mr Marende said the political landscape in western Kenya would never be same if the campaign to register six million voters before the next election succeeds.
“We can also have a tyranny of numbers if we unite and vote as a bloc. We will witness a shift in the political landscape if six million voters from western Kenya register in preparation for the 2017 polls,” said Mr Marende.
He said he supported President Uhuru Kenyatta’s drive to ensure 70 per cent of Kenyans were connected to electricity by 2017 to stimulate economic growth in the rural parts of the country.
http://www.nation.co.ke/news/politics/Kenneth-Marende-ODM-Luhya-Community/-/1064/2798646/-/12l0al4z/-/index.html
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