Edwin Sifuna: Gumbo, Owino have chosen to frustrate ODM

The Raila Odinga-led ODM party has blamed former police spokesperson Charles Owino who defected to United Democratic Movement (UDM) to join hands with former Rarieda MP Nicholas Gumbo in the Siaya Gubernatorial contest of dishonesty.

They will face off with Siaya Senator James Orengo who is poised to clinch the ODM gubernatorial ticket.

ODM Secretary-General Edwin Sifuna on Tuesday said the duo might have joined hands long ago but chose to frustrate ODM.

"What I know is the deadline for joining parties lapsed and the registrar closed the portal.

"These ones must have joined UDM long ago but were hanging around to just make life hard for ODM," Mr Sifuna told the Nation moments after UDM leader - Mandera Governor Ali Roba unveiled the joint Gumbo-Owino ticket at the party Headquarters in Nairobi on Tuesday.

UDM Secretary General David Ohito defended the duo, saying they met the March 26 party hopping deadline.

 "As the custodian of the party register, I can confirm that the two leaders are legally members of the United Democratic Movement having joined the party on March 24," Mr Ohito said.

ODM primaries

Mr Owino said the move was secret and was actualised after realisation that the ODM party was determined to offer its ticket to a different candidate – Mr Orengo.

 “I am cognisant of the fact that you cannot belong to two parties and moved long before the March 26 deadline for (party hopping),” the former police spokesperson told Journalists at the UDM headquarters.

He went on: “I paid the nomination fee and was to participate in the ODM primaries but I was prevailed upon to stand down for an individual and as our character dictates I said I would not oppose that kind of request.

 “But unfortunately my supporters said I must run so we decided to team up with Gumbo and have a formidable force.”

The move by Mr Owino to join hands with Mr Gumbo has elicited debate that some aspirants were being favoured by ODM party.

ODM National Elections Board (NEB) chairperson Catherine Mumma however, moved to quell tension in the party over claims that certain individuals had been handed direct tickets.

She revealed that the party has at least four nomination methods including consensus, issuance of direct ticket, nomination by delegates and by universal suffrage by party members.

“We encourage members to speak to each other and not to be negatively competitive against each other while the second method is direct nomination where we have single candidates or candidates who come from communities who use their own cultural nominations and give us nominees.

“The rest is determined by the central committee which sits and decides on the basis of different methods including the look at scientific methods – opinion polling and making a decision but so far we have not sat to determine who is getting direct tickets on the basis of the polls,” Ms Mumma said.

She went on: “The third method is voting through delegates which however, we won’t apply this time. We only applied for the nomination of the presidential candidate and the final method is universal suffrage by registered ODM members.”