HON OPARANYA SHOTS DIRECT
STATEMENT BY GOVERNOR WYCLIFFE OPARANYA ON ODM MATTERS:
As Deputy Party Leader of the Orange Democratic Movement, I take great
reservations to the utterances attributed to the party’s Secretary
General Hon Ababu Namwamba to the effect 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.
Hon Namwamba’s utterances are
dangerous to the extent that they seek to create non-existent divisions
in the party along ethnic lines.
I wish to assure all ODM supporters
that the party remains strong in Western Kenya and beyond and nobody
should panic over Hon Namwamba’s utterances. The Luhya community is
equally well represented and catered for in the party, holding key
positions like that of Deputy Party Leader, Vice Chairman, Deputy
Organizing Secretary and chairman of Disputes Tribunal, among others.
At the beginning of the 11th Parliament, the party was also kind enough
to reward our support with the chairmanship of the powerful Public
Accounts Committee, which went to Hon Namwamba and which we lost through
reckless arrogance and selfishness.
It is not a secret that the
Secretary General has been missing in action and failing to provide
leadership at critical moments. He was missing as the party prepared to
welcome its leader Hon Raila Odinga back into the country after a three
month sabbatical in the US. The SG was missing throughout the Okoa Kenya
pro-referendum campaign and lately he has been missing from all effort
to disband and reform the IEBC. Yet reform of the IEBC is critical to
ODM’s plans for ascending to power.
As we approach elections, many
leaders will be seeking excuses for their failure in an effort to find
their way back. ODM supporters must remain alert to such maneuvers and
hold individuals to account for the positions they held.
H.E GOV. WYCLIFFE A OPARANYA
DEPUTY PARTY LEADER
ODM
22.06.2016