Close allies of opposition chief Raila Odinga have openly rebuked ODM secretary general Ababu Namwamba, opening fresh cracks in the Orange Party 14 months to the polls.
Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya, Raila’s second in command, on Wednesday lifted the lid on tensions inside ODM in a stinging criticism of Ababu, amid allegations of a plot to kick him out as SG.
In a strongly worded statement, Oparanya accused Ababu of seeking to dismember the party along ethnic lines and accused him of being asleep on the job.
Oparanya’s statement was backed by a host of MPs, with some claiming the erstwhile firebrand lawmaker had turned into “a cry baby”.
Oparanya, who hosted Raila in Kakamega last week in a forum attended by thousands of young people, said Ababu has failed to provide leadership at critical moments.
“He was missing as the party prepared to welcome its leader, the Hon Raila Odinga, back into the country after a three-month sabbatical in the US,” Oparanya said.
“The SG was missing throughout the Okoa Kenya pro-referendum campaign and lately he has been missing from all efforts to disband and reform the IEBC. Yet reform of the IEBC is critical to ODM’s plans for ascending to power”.
On Tuesday, eight ODM MPs from Western led by Ababu himself claimed there are forces within the party that are bullying, frustrating and wrongly profiling them.
Read: Read: Western ODM MPs statement on Ababu Namwamba frustration
“We are not happy at all that the party leadership has no respect for us as elected leaders in the region. The party leader as well as the national chairman have been conducting activities in the region without involving us at all,” the MPs said.
The tirade was directed at Raila and ODM chairman John Mbadi.
Funyula MP Paul Otuoma even alleged a plot to kick out Ababu from the influential ODM post.
Ababu’s tenure as SG has been marred by controversy, including claims that he is shopping for another party.
Ababu has missed key Cord events, including those surrounding the death of controversial businessman Jacob Juma and the demonstrations against the IEBC.
His absences have fuelled speculation about his estrangement from Cord.
“I want to serve in an environment where I am appreciated. There are people who survive on intimidating others,” he said.
But yesterday Oparanya said he takes great exception to claims by Ababu that the Luhya community is “being persecuted and undermined in ODM”.
“These utterances are unfortunate indeed and not befitting of a leader in the position Hon Namwamba holds. They are an embarrassment to the party and to the Luhya community that is solidly behind ODM,” Oparanya said.
He went on: “Hon Namwamba’s utterances are dangerous to the extent that they seek to create non-existent divisions in the party along ethnic lines”.
Oparanya claimed Ababu lost the influential Parliamentary Accounts Committee chairmanship, a position he claimed was a reward to the community, through “reckless arrogance and selfishness”.
Expert opinion:Ababu has nobody to blame but himself
A group of Western MPs who spoke at Raila’s Capitol Hill, Nairobi, office said the region is well represented within the ODM leadership.
They said the positions of Deputy Party Leader, Vice Chairman, Deputy Organising Secretary and Chairman of the Disputes Tribunal were all given to Western Kenya.
Otuoma is among the four ODM chairmen: The others are Turkana Governor Josphat Nanok, Eldas MP Adan Keynan and Christine Lemein.
Busia Woman representative Florence Mutua is one of two deputy organising secretaries.
The leaders said ODM catered for their interests and they will work closely with Raila ahead of next year’s polls.
“We had talks [with Raila] on the differences that were raised by some of our colleagues in the National Assembly and agreed to work together in the interest of the nation,” said Shinyalu MP Silverse Anami Lisamula.
Also present were Mutua, Matayos MP Geoffrey Odanga, Vihiga county Woman Representative Dorcas Kedogo and Lurambi MP Raphael Otalo.
However, Homa Bay MP Peter Kaluma asked Ababu to stop “flimsy excuses and being a cry baby”, and assert his authority as ODM secretary general.
Kaluma says now that Ababu is back from paternity leave he should take charge at Orange House and come up with strategies and programmes that will reenergize and rejuvenate the party ahead of the next general election.
“It is wrong for him to come back from paternity leave and then start saying that some programmes were proceeding without him, did he want to ground the party during paternity leave?” said Kaluma.
Kaluma denied claims by Ababu that some of the positions created by the party, including the director of Elections and secretary for Political Affairs, were meant to whittle down the secretary general’s powers.
“The secretary general is the most powerful position in the party, by the way he [tables] policies and programmes to be executed by the other section heads, like Junet Mohamed,” Kaluma said.
Junet is the director of Elections while Ugunja MP Opiyo Wandayi is the secretary for Political Affairs.
Kaluma also denied that the party has sidelined Ababu and Otuoma, saying the two hold key party positions and “should stop excuses and scapegoats if they have performed below average”.
“Ababu is the secretary general and Otuoma is the vice chairman, we want them to organise party programmes and activities for us to work together,” he said.
“If leaders have under-performed then they should excuse themselves in the manner Ababu has been doing it – as in being on paternity leave – rather than scapegoating,” Kaluma said.
It would be impractical for Ababu to claim that he has been clipped of powers and that he would work more effectively if the rest of the directorates are collapsed and put under the office of the secretary general, he said.
“The current structure of the party is collegiate; I don’t see how does Junet affect the position of the secretary general, being a campaign director?” he said.
“We have one year to the elections, we don’t want excuses and scapegoating,” he concluded.
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