Obado ouster bid cracks wide rift in the assembly
Migori Governor Okoth Obado addresses journalists at his Rapogi home on September 9, 2020.
What you need to know:
- One faction is led by Deputy Speaker George Omamba, who is pushing for the ouster bid and enjoys the support of the party.
- The other faction consists of eight pro-Obado ward reps led by Kaler MCA Thomas Akungo who has since accused the ODM of “forcing the impeachment bid down our throats.”
Embattled Migori Governor Okoth Obado’s highly anticipated impeachment has split members of the county assembly, with a section now accusing the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) of dictatorship.
The MCAs, sources at the assembly say, are apprehensive over the governor’s impeachment and no longer read from the same script since last Wednesday’s sittings that turned chaotic, leaving a female MCA nursing a broken arm.
One faction is led by Deputy Speaker George Omamba, who is pushing for the ouster bid and enjoys the support of the party.
The other faction consists of eight pro-Obado ward reps led by Kaler MCA Thomas Akungo who has since accused the ODM of “forcing the impeachment bid down our throats.”
The sharp divisions seem to have gone a notch higher after seven of the MCAs allied to Governor Obado were arraigned in a Migori court on Tuesday over claims of assault and creating a disturbance in the chamber, at a time Speaker Boaz Okoth was also held in Nairobi by sleuths over corrupt dealings at the assembly.
The seven were later released on a Sh30,000 cash bail each after denying the charges and immediately convened a presser at the assembly accusing the ODM party of meddling in the assembly affairs.
North Kamagambo MCA Samwel Orima, a member of the Speaker’s panel who enjoys a cordial relationship with Governor Obado, accused the Raila Odinga led party of “creating an unnecessary political battle with an impeachment that has little grounds.”
Intimidation and blackmail
“It is sad that some party officials are now out to derail the unwavering peace we have been enjoying in the county since elections by forcing things down our throats,” Mr Orima said.
“The arrest of our Speaker in unclear circumstances coupled with the prosecution of some of the MCAs is an indication of dictatorship at its peak,” he told journalists.
Mr Orima, who chaired the Tuesday assembly sitting, said he adjourned the sittings to Tuesday next week following an alleged arrest of Speaker Okoth.
Mr Okoth was summoned by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) for interrogation on Tuesday, with the MCAs claiming he was unlawfully held in what they linked with the planned ouster bid.
“ODM is using intimidation, blackmail and threats to compel us into hounding the governor from office,” Mr Akungo said.
But North Kanyamkago MCA George Omamba maintained that the party’s directive must fully be implemented, while insisting that the decision to impeach the governor emanated from his corruption cases.
He absolved the party from blame, noting that the impeachment motion was mooted in the interests of all Migori residents whom, he said, have been denied crucial services.
