Obado trashes Azimio brigade, calls them hypocrites

Obado trashes Azimio brigade, calls them hypocrites

Outgoing Migori Governor Okoth Obado has once again taken a swipe at the Azimio la Umoja brigade, accusing them of hypocrisy.

Mr Obado, the Kenya Kwanza coordinator in Nyanza, accused some Azimio-affiliated politicians of forming a “sanitiser company” where they cleansed those on their side and condemned those who opposed them.

Addressing a gathering during Madaraka Day celebrations on Wednesday, the governor termed those in Azimio as “pretenders who preach water while drinking wine”.

“There are a lot of hypocrites on the other side. When they get any slight opportunity to speak on camera they are very fast in pointing fingers and saying that so and so is corrupt yet it is they who thrive on corruption,” Mr Obado said.

“If I am lying, then let them carry a Bible and swear that they are not corrupt.”

In a bare-knuckle attack, the governor accused an ODM luminary in the county of “stealing relief food, unpacking them and selling them to members of the public at a pocket-friendly price”.

“There is one who has turned relief food into a campaign tool yet he is the same person lecturing others on corruption. They brand others corrupt while they are the most corrupt,” Mr Obado said.

A fortnight ago, some ODM leaders, led by Migori Senator Ochillo Ayacko, castigated the governor, saying he has a poor track record in his two terms in office.

They accused Mr Obado of being used to undermine Azimio la Umoja Kenya One presidential candidate Raila Odinga in the region following his open support for the Kenya Kwanza presidential candidate, Deputy President William Ruto.

“He is a man on a mission to scuttle votes and deny Mr Odinga the presidency when he has failed to deliver services to Migori people all this while,” Mr Ayacko said at a political meeting in Nyatike.

He called on the governor to respect Mr Odinga and Azimio leaders.

“Thieves are arrested and prosecuted. Raila has been fighting for the well-being of this country. Let not that person who has court cases around him come to accuse us of being corrupt,” the senator said.

Mr Obado previously promoted the People’s Democratic Party after he severed links with ODM, citing frustrations.

He now supports Dr Ruto, bringing him into conflict with the Azimio brigade, which accuses him “wanting to eat into Mr Odinga and ODM's support in his Nyanza stronghold”.