ODM top brass camps in Migori ahead of Obado ouster motion
ODM chairman John Mbadi (right) and Suna East MP Junet Mohamed at a past event. Orange party top brass have camped in Migori ahead of Governor Okoth Obado's impeachment motion
What you need to know:
- Suna East MP and National Assembly Minority whip Junet Mohammed travelled to Migori on Thursday evening and held a brief meeting with branch officials.
- Mr Obado needs to convince only 18 MCAs to oppose the motion so that his rivals do not get the two-thirds number required to oust him.
The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) top leadership is today expected in Migori town on a mission to woo its MCAs ahead of next week’s tabling of an impeachment motion against scandal-ridden Governor Okoth Obado. A similar ouster bid failed to take off this week.
Today’s meeting is expected to be attended by all Migori MPs save for Kuria West’s Mathias Robi, who is opposed to the impeachment bid.
Local ODM branch chairman Phillip Makabongo on Friday called for more security personnel to guard the 600 delegates expected at Maranatha Church.
Branch officials
Suna East MP and National Assembly Minority whip Junet Mohammed travelled to Migori on Thursday evening and held a brief meeting with branch officials.
He is expected to host ODM Chairman John Mbadi and other top party officials to drum support of Mr Obado’s ouster. County Speaker Boaz Okoth, who had earlier expressed fears for his life, adjourned the Thursday afternoon sitting to next week barely 15 minutes after the House convened, then left in a huff.
Mr Obado needs to convince only 18 MCAs to oppose the motion so that his rivals do not get the two-thirds number required to oust him. ODM initiated the ouster bid after Mr Obado was charged with graft.
Save Obado
Some political observers read delay tactics in the intrigues around the motion, with claims that the Speaker was part of a well-knit scheme to save Mr Obado. There are fears that a parallel motion has been drafted to cause confusion at the assembly and scuttle the original plan.
Should that be the case, the impeachment motion would fall flat on its face, and would only be brought back to the House after six months, giving Governor Obado’s team ample time to regroup and scuttle the attempt altogether. The Speaker denies the claims.
Governor Obado, who was barred by an anti-corruption court from setting foot in his office, blamed the withdrawal of his security on Wednesday on his political distractors. He termed the move “blatant intimidation” geared towards taming his stand on bureaucracy in ODM.
