Trouble in ODM over Opposition Bill
By Ayub Savula
Secret meetings over a Bill seeking the creation of the grand opposition are sending jitters in Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s camp.
Proponents of the grand opposition have stepped up their lobbying efforts and are roping in ODM MPs who are signing up to support the Bill that is due to come to Parliament for debate soon.
Already, 30 MPs have signed up so far, prompting ODM Secretary-General Anyang’ Nyong’o to call a crisis meeting this week.
“We are going to call a meeting to discuss the matter. I don’t know why the MPs are defiant,” Nyong’o said.
Justice minister Martha Karua added her voice to the debate at the weekend when she said she would “receive the Bill on behalf of the Government” and present it to the House for discussion.
Karua added: “We are not afraid of opposition in Parliament.”
The Prime Minister has been opposed to the proposition for Official Opposition in Parliament. His party is wary of losing numbers. The legal implications of its ratification would mean ODM might not enjoy a majority in Parliament, which in turn would jeopardise the PM’s post and occasion the collapse of the coalition.
But this need not happen if the National Assembly (Opposition Bill, 2008), which was published last week and is up for debate, is endorsed by the House.
The Bill recognises the Opposition as a caucus of like-minded MPs and does not demand their quitting the parties that sponsored them to Parliament.
Raila ally and Government Chief Whip, Gem MP Jakoyo Midiwo told The Standard that the MPs were being sponsored by a top Cabinet minister to derail the Grand Coalition Government headed by President Kibaki and Raila.
Assistant minister Joshua Ojode said: “The MPs have a hidden agenda and we have to fight it”.
Massive support
But some of the MPs who signed to support the Opposition Bill remained unrepentant.
“I’m among the MPs who started it and I shall stand by it,” said Chepalungu MP Isaac Ruto, adding that the proposal had received massive support from the Rift Valley.
The Standard has established that the MPs fronting the Bill have intensified their meetings to galvanise support in Parliament.
But Midiwo said ODM was aware of a top Cabinet minister seeking to undermine the current Government to pave way for his own quest for the presidency in 2012.
“This is part of a wider scheme against Raila for the next General Election. The minister is sponsoring these games to undermine the leadership of Kibaki and Raila so that he can emerge a frontrunner in the General Election as he is dreaming that the coalition will flop,” he added.
Midiwo said he would name the minister in Parliament when the House resumes, if he does not stop his activities.
He added: “As a party we don’t want these things. We are in Government and we cannot afford to be in the opposition at the same time.”
When asked for his comment on the matter, the PNU Chief Whip and Juja MP George Thuo said he was waiting for the motion to be brought to the House to determine the level of the PNU support.
“I have no clue. I am waiting for the Bill to be tabled in Parliament,” said Thuo.
Attorney General Amos Wako has already given a go ahead for the publication of the Bill that is due to come to the House in October.
The secretary of the committee pushing for the Bill, Budalang’i MP Ababu Namwamba, confirmed that 30 MPs had signed up to support it.
Namwamba said there were no provisions in ODM’s constitution for a disciplinary action against MPs supporting the Bill.
Namwamba also said fears by some individuals against the Bill were unfounded as it would not destroy the grand coalition.
“I respect the Prime Minister, but I have a conviction to support the Bill to create an outfit that will check against the excesses of the Government,” he added.
While addressing the annual anniversary of former Vice-President Michael Wamalwa, Raila opposed the Bill on the grounds that ODM was in the Government.
He said ODM MPs should not support the Bill because there were backbenchers in Parliament who can play the role of opposition.
Among the MPs supporting the Bill include Charles Kilonzo, Bonny Khalwale, Kiema Kilonzo, Joshua Kutuny, Mithika Linturi and Cyrus Jirongo, among others.
But Namwamba said they had convinced the youthful MPs from Rift Valley to support them too.
However, Jirongo said MPs from Nyanza who were initially supporting the Bill have pulled out.
Courtesy of:http://www.eastandard.net
1 user commented in " Mt Kenya Mafia tycoons and Ex-President Moi is bankrolling, Iron Lady, Ababu and Jirongo to dismantle ODM, Raila leadership before 2012 general election "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackKenyans who voted for ODM were expecting their leaders to consolidate the party and making the party strong.The odm leaders seem to be sleeping and taking things for granted.
The coliation government was just formed because of pressure from international community,and the need by Gema to settle their displaced brothers.
Panu did not accept work together with ODM because by nature kikuyus are greedy people
who are not ready to share anything.
It is high time Raila and his group should go back to the drawing board and plan a fresh. They should not be cheated that diehard politicians like Moi can sleeping when he feels that Ruto ,a son of nobody is taking over as a leader of Kalenjin.
Moi is ready to combine forces with kikuyus once again to undermine ODM.In fact he is already doing it because of greed and lust for power.He wants his son to take over as a kalenjin leader.He is already using Kipsigis leaders to destroy the unity in ODM.
Kenyans are very keen watching Moi and his friends tactics of dividing odm so that his
Uhuru project can suceed in the next general election.Moi is being cheated to help kikuyu
by isolating kalenjin from the mainstream of ODM party so that kikuyus can deal with them.
In fact,in Kipsigis the government is using Moi’s friends who are equally corrupt to distroy unity of kalenjin and odm to make for them be accommodated by kikuyus for shortterm gain.
Most of Moi friends are the once who grabbed huge land in Molo water catchment area and they
are not ready to leave this land.These same people are behaving like Muthiaga club elites
who are eating on behalf of kikuyus.
These few kipsigis grabbers are ready to eat everything on behalf of kalenjin.Moi ruled kenyans for 24 years and never bothered to uplift the standard of living of the general kalenjin population.
He only created few cunning and greedy lords who grabbed the remaining kalenjin
land for themselves and their children.
Moi is the one who messed the kalenjin economy by allowing Kenyatta to settle his kinsmen in Rift Valley in exchange the Vice Prsidency without caring about the landless kalenjin.He went and grabbed the reamining good land by himself and few kalenjin friends.
This man is the cause of all evil things that kenya is experiencing now.He perfected corruption and assissanation of political leaders which was started during kenyatta.
This man created many scandles like Goldenberg, and many deaths.Because his evil deeds ,Moi is not ready to see a government which practices true democracy .The panu is using Moi’s fear
to get to make use of him in their scheme of destroying odm’s unity.
It is the same tactics which kikuyus elites have been using to get funds from fearful corrupt kalenjin elites who are buying their freedom by bribing kikuyu administration elites.To these elites from kalenjin who are ready to pay any amount to serve the skin,the panu is the right party for them.
These elites never bothered to talk when kalenjin professionals were being sacked by kikuyu government immediately Moi left the government.In fact,these corrupt elites never
bothered by their children were never affected.
was started by Kenyatta
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