DG Saisi dumps ODM, to face Ottichilo for governor’s seat
Vihiga Governor Wilber Ottichilo (right) with his deputy Patrick Saisi at a past function. The two have fallen out as they disagree on the running of the county.
A fierce political battle is looming between Vihiga Governor Wilber Ottichilo and his deputy Patrick Saisi, after the latter declared he will challenge his boss in the August 9 General Election.
Dr Saisi has decamped from ODM to The Equitable Party (TEP) on whose ticket he will seek the governorship.
Dr Saisi said local politics forced him out of the Mr Raila Odinga-led party but affirmed he will support the ODM leader's presidential bid.
Dr Ottichilo is seeking a second term and will now have to shop for another running mate to help him ward off the wave that has seen a number of other senior politicians declare their interest in unseating him.
They include former Governor Moses Akaranga (PPK), Senator George Khaniri (UDP) and Sabatia MP Alfred Agoi (ANC).
Dr Saisi said his boss had earlier dared him for a political contest and noted that his decision to join TEP will now hand him an opportunity to compete against him.
Recalling his battles under the current administration, Dr Saisi said his competitors tried to cripple him financially but noted that his dreams remained alive.
For several months last year, Dr Saisi's salary was withheld after Governor Ottichilo accused him of using proxies to fight the administration he belongs to.
Yesterday, however, Dr Saisi said he had decided to leave ODM as he did not want to fight with Dr Ottichilo for the party's ticket "yet there are other vehicles to use".
"I am going for the governor's seat in Vihiga on TEP. For five years I have been monitoring the happenings in Vihiga," he said.
"When I get there, things will be better because I know how it is. I know where to touch and make things better."
And added: "ODM still has some presence in Vihiga and I didn't want to leave it. I was pushed out by people who did not want me to attend their meetings and kept me in the dark."
He said he will launch his bid next week at a function that will be held in the county.
In September last year, Governor Ottichilo dared his deputy to a governorship contest after they fell out. They became irreconcilable and turned into verbal exchanges on media platforms.
Attempts by ODM to broker a truce between the two leaders failed to yield fruit, prompting Dr Saisi to travel to the United States, where he stayed for two months to help him heal from the effects of the infighting and strategise on wresting power from Dr Ottichilo.
In a TV interview in September last year, Dr Ottichilo told Dr Saisi to face him at the ballot if he is "man enough".
At the time, Dr Saisi had publicly protested that he had been unceremoniously removed from the County Executive Committee (CEC) WhatsApp group, a move that he said put him in the dark as the group was used to plan meetings of the cabinet, of which he is a member.
The sentiments provoked his boss, who said: "If he (Dr Saisi) thinks he can make it (to a governorship contest) and he is now man enough, let him get into the field."
He added: "The kind of politics I want us to play here in Vihiga and Kenya at large should be issue-based and not full of abuses. After all the politics, let us sit down and share a cup of tea."
He said he was the one who picked Dr Saisi as his running mate in 2017, and noted that he could still pick him for 2022 if his deputy reformed and avoided using the media to antagonise him.
"It is difficult to abandon the person you picked. I don't harbour bad blood for him. I have not wronged him but he has issues he doesn't like about my leadership," Dr Ottichilo said in September 2021.
