Obado planning to blackmail MCAs supporting his ouster, ODM officials say
ODM chairman John Mbadi and the party’s secretary-general Edwin Sifuna at a presser in Naiobi on September 3, 2020.
What you need to know:
- Mr Obado's political adviser Dennis Orero denied the allegations and challenged ODM to table evidence.
- The process to impeach Mr Obado cleared the first hurdle Wednesday, beginning the countdown to his ouster and imminent takeover by his deputy, Mr Nelson Mahanga.
- At least 27 MCAs had signed up for a motion to impeach Mr Obado by Wednesday, eight more than the requisite number for it to be tabled in the assembly.
The Orange Democratic Movement party claimed Thursday that Migori ward representatives supporting the impeachment of Governor Okoth Obado are facing blackmail and intimidation.
ODM chairman John Mbadi said the party has names of individuals "currently involved in raising money and also diverting public funds to bribe MCAs and finance violence in the county.”
The party official asked the government to offer security to Migori MCAs.
Mr Obado's political adviser Dennis Orero denied the allegations and challenged ODM to table evidence.
The process to impeach Mr Obado cleared the first hurdle Wednesday, beginning the countdown to his ouster and imminent takeover by his deputy, Mr Nelson Mahanga.
At least 27 MCAs had signed up for a motion to impeach Mr Obado by Wednesday, eight more than the requisite number for it to be tabled in the assembly.
The motion must be supported by a third of the members—19 in a House of 57—and must detail sufficient grounds for the governor’s removal.
If backed by a two-thirds majority (in this case, 38) during a vote, the impeachment proceedings will be referred to the Senate, to either uphold or dismiss the charges against the governor.
Mr Mahanga, a Kuria, who had been away from office for over a year in 2018 reportedly after falling out with his boss, looks set to have the final laugh. His ascension to power will also cap what had seemed like an improbable fête for a leader from a minority community.
Odds against Obado
In the assembly, the odds are stacked against Mr Obado given that Mr Raila Odinga’s ODM party that sanctioned his removal has 41 MCAs — more than the number needed to send him home.
Jubilee has five members, (all from the Kuria community, which doesn’t help his cause), Ford Kenya (three), Independents (seven) and the Peoples’ Party of Kenya (PPK) has one. But several factors could also be at play.
Wednesday, it emerged that some ODM MCAs were in a dilemma whether to side with the party or with the governor.
“Some of our colleagues do business with the county government and really fear signing the petition. They will now have to make a choice whether they need the party ticket in 2022 or they want to go home with Obado,” an MCA from Suna East told the Nation.
