How Ida, Oburu saved Okoth Obado’s job

The unpredictable Migori Governor Okoth Obado has yet again dodged the bullet; he might not be impeached, after all.  

For months, the governor was on a razor edge as the Orange Democratic Party plotted his ouster due to his association with Deputy President William Ruto in a region largely considered Raila Odinga’s base.

However, the impeachment drive has now been halted with help coming from the most unlikely of places: Mr Odinga’s family. Party sources told the Nation yesterday that the intervention of Ida Odinga and Dr Oburu Oginga saved Mr Obado’s job.

The two brokered a truce between the governor and Orange House, which had whipped Migori ward representatives to topple the executive in a bid aimed at stopping the growing influence of Dr Ruto in South Nyanza politics.

“He (Obado) sought help from Mama Ida, who intervened with Dr Oginga last week even as party stalwarts kept piling pressure on the MCAs to proceed with the impeachment plan. He has yet again survived because the motion has been stopped,” said the source.

At the weekend, Mr Odinga signalled that the plan was over when he offered to broker a peace deal between Mr Obado and Migori Senator Ochillo Ayacko. At the burial of Peter Sirawa, father of Awendo MP Walter Owino on Friday, Mr Obado shared the podium with Mr Odinga and other ODM leaders as the party leader steered clear of the impeachment debate. Instead, Mr Odinga promised to unite the rival Migori leaders.

Address  guests

On Saturday, the Odingas invited the governor to their meeting with Kikuyu Council of Elders in Bondo, where he was even offered an opportunity to address the guests. Mr Obado utilised his golden chance by asking Mr Odinga to consider him in the Luo delegation to Central Kenya.

He lavished praise on Mr Odinga and President Uhuru Kenyatta for taking the country in the right direction. “BBI talks about inclusivity. Let us embrace one another so that we can feel part of one community under God,” said the governor.

Mr Odinga’s move could heal divisions in an assembly that had been polarised with parallel factions disrupting the development agenda. “At some point, the governor was about to give in to pressure from the party to resign, but his handlers kept pushing him to soldier on. They were using all available means including giving out cash to woo some of the MCAs,” said an ODM source.

An MCA alleged money exchanged hands at the peak of the impeachment drive. “Several meetings were held in Migori and Kisumu hotels and MCAs who were proving difficult were either coerced into submission or bribed to abandon the governor,” he said.

Mama Ida and Dr Oginga saved a situation that could have backfired on the party had the impeachment flopped. And by welcoming back the ‘prodigal son’, Mr Odinga has ensured peace in a volatile region as he seeks to cement his base.

Gubernatorial race

The governor’s woes with ODM began in 2013 during the gubernatorial race when he floored the party choice. Mr Odinga’s candidate, Prof Edward Akong’o Oyugi, was beaten by a man running on the little-known People’s Democratic Party.

Throughout his first term, Mr Obado skipped many meetings that brought Luo Nyanza leaders together and was even considered ‘too close’ to Jubilee Party.

But as the 2017 General Election drew closer, he returned home and battled it out with Mr Ayacko in bloody party primaries. In one campaign attended by ODM Deputy Party leader and Mombasa Governor Ali Hassan Joho, Suna East MP Junet Mohammed and then-Kisumu Senator Prof Anyang’ Nyong’o, shots were fired as the two factions squared it out.

Despite the presence of the ODM luminaries, Mr Obado won the party ticket, being the second time he was winning against Mr Odinga and his allies.

In his second term, he remained isolated with those who got close to him being branded betrayers. He kept off the party, but after facing some cases in court, including the murder charge involving the Rongo University student Sharon Otieno, the governor started warming up to Mr Odinga.

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