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Nyanza leaders urge other communities to support Raila’s presidential bid

Saturday, October 16th, 2021 17:44 | By
ODM Leader Raila Odinga. Photo/COURTESY

Nyanza leaders have appealed to other Kenyan communities to support Raila Odinga for President come 2022 general elections.

The leaders led by Kisumu senator Fred Outa, Kisumu West and East Mp Olago Aluoch, Shakeel Shabbir and Muhoroni MP Onyango Koyoo termed Raila as the most experienced politician best poised to succeed President Uhuru Kenyatta.

The calls come in the wake of Raila's intensified bid to mobilize the people across the country through his newly launched Azimio la Umoja movement aimed at uniting Kenyans.

"We are asking Kenyans to consider voting for Raila this time round as a dedicated leader who has showed love to all Kenyans beyond their tribal creeds,"Outa said.

The senator claimed that Raila had fought for the enhanced democratic space in the country passionately, without tribal bias.

In the same breath, Outa further said this is why he had supported President Mwai Kibaki when he declared him Tosha and the support shown to President Uhuru Kenyatta through handshake.

"We are asking other Kenyan communities to rise beyond their tribal inclination and support Raila who means well for the entire nation," he said.

The comments were supported by MP Olago, Shabbir and Chief of administration in the Ministry of Regional and East African Cooperation Ken Obura as well as Siaya governor Cornel Rasanga, Koyoo, and Kisumu women rep Rosa Buyu and Kabondo MP Eve Obara.

The leaders appealed to the Luo community to exercise humility and humble themselves as they aim at the country's top executive position, which has eluded the community leadership for many years.

Noting that unlike in the previous elections, the system has been fighting Raila's bid for Presidency the sudden wave of political transition that has seen the system prefer Raila to other Presidential peers was a precursor that the wind of good will was blowing towards Nyanza.

"I beseech the people of Nyanza to conduct themselves with civility and talk to each other to desist from politics of hatred and spite against other communities as the presidential race gains momentum,” Obura said.

They were speaking during the burial of the late Sonya Hawi, daughter of former Kisumu governor Jack Ranguma in Chemelil, Kisumu County.

During the ceremony, succession politics in Kisumu County took center stage, with several leaders declaring that they will not allow 'shrewd ' ODM party primaries.

Outa sparked the debate when he claimed that they will not allow incumbent governor Professor Peter Anyang Nyong'o to be handed over a direct part nomination certificate.

"ODM is a party that believes in both internal and external party democracy, and therefore it was inconsequential for someone to think of being given a direct party ticket without facing the electorate at the ballot," Outa said.

Obura and Koyoo weighed in on the matter, saying that aspirants going round claiming that they will be handed a free party ticket will be in for a rude shock come next year.

"There are those who are going round endorsing others for certain seats as their preferred choice, this is an exercise in futility that should be condemned in the strongest ways possible,” Koyoo said.

Obura and Outa on the other hand told the ODM leaders that if they dare hand over a direct ticket to anyone, then it will be resisted by members of the public.

"We want our good ODM party to hold free and fair party primaries so that only the popular candidates are elected as opposed to selection or hand-picking," Obura said.

Outa 'stung' the administration of Nyong'o for poor performance in the last five years arguing that they had high hopes, but he left them down for failing to initiate viable infrastructure in the rural areas save for Kisumu City where he had succeeded in beautifying earning the lakeside city 'Yurop' tag.

But Owili in response to the allegations levelled against them dismissed the claims as mere political propaganda aimed at gaining or winning the public support from creed opinions.

"I want to tell my good friends that we have done a lot as a county, and we can enumerate them without blinking an eye here and in other forums to disapprove the negative propaganda and malice," Owili said.

This was in response to Outa who alleged that the county had received billions of shillings from donors, but there was still little to show for it.

He called for accountable exercise of leadership to the people.

The leaders called for peaceful elections and urged the residents to register in large numbers for elections, at the same time pledged to work together to uphold unity and diversity.

Ranguma and his wife Olivia eulogised the late Hawi as a bright star and humble lady who demonstrated great passion and commitment to her work, which frequently earned her promotions in Atlanta and Georgia in the United States of America, where she worked as an information and Communication Technology Expert.

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