Orengo versus ‘Jopap’: Who will blink first?

One of the most popular topics of discussion in Luo WhatsApp groups in recent months has been the activities of Jopap – the people of the open field.

Initially used to refer to folks in informal jobs of the Jua Kali type, Jopap have since evolved to include white-collar fraudsters.

Concerns have been raised particularly about the increasing number of young Luo men being linked with fake gold or Wash-Wash (fake money) scams.

You can tell the overrepresentation of Jopap in these crimes from the photos of suspects holding identification banners that the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) puts up on its Twitter handle.

The DCI most likely believes exposing the suspects on social media will embarrass them and help deter crime.

Loyalty to Baba

But back in the community, Jopap tend to divide opinion. Where some see crime, others see in their flashy lifestyles – described in media reports of accommodation in upper middle class apartments in Nairobi, business trips to Dubai and sharp dressing – streetwise people, risk-takers or go-getters trying to survive in an economy that is rigged against them.

Those who find nothing untoward about the activities of Jopap point to the normalisation of theft of public funds through tenderpreneurship deals by folks from other communities.

This apparent destigmatisation of Jopap could explain the rising number of young people being lured into white-collar crime. It has also seen the emergence of fraudulent political leadership in the community.

Aspirants for parliamentary or county assembly seats consider paying a bribe for the ticket of the dominant political party a better bet than hitting the campaign trail to persuade voters.

Members of Parliament shamelessly declare on live television that their ultimate loyalty is to Baba, the party leader – not the people who elected them!

The unfolding succession wars in ODM have brought out the worst in these Jopap of Luo politics.

Error-strewn BBI Bill

With the uncertainty hanging over Raila Odinga’s 2022 presidential candidature and the inevitable waning of influence, they are naturally apprehensive about their own futures.

To upstage their rivals in the progressive group linked to Siaya Senator James Orengo and Rarieda MP Otiende Amolo, the party hawks created a clever narrative that the two leaders are disloyal to the party leader.

Of course, everyone knows the two lawyers simply warned about the legal dangers of passing the error-strewn BBI Bill and raised legitimate questions about the distribution of the proposed 70 additional constituencies.

Mr Orengo, a veteran of the country’s political trenches, can sure hold his own in any fight while Mr Otiende has won the hearts of his constituents with his anti-poverty programmes.

But in a party and community where a whiff of disloyalty to Baba can be career-threatening, Mr Orengo and Mr Otiende could find themselves in trouble at a funeral-cum-ODM-rally somewhere in Siaya or Homa Bay.

[email protected]. @otienootieno