Kisumu city
Awendo-Sare a small farming Town, located in the newly created Awendo district within Migori County is the only local authority under the firm grips of ODM within Nyanza, where council elections were held in a smooth and peaceful manner. Elsewhere, council election turned chaotic prompting anti-riot police squad to be summoned to quell clashes. In Kisumu City for example, the Town Hall had been placed under a twenty four hour police surveillance and protection following rumors doing the rounds that town hall had forcefully removed the incumbent from his office. A rumor circulating in town was that the postponement of the mayoral election is just a time buying plot to enable the incumbent mayor Okello sufficient time for canvassing with councilors, a majority who appear to have deserted him. In the previous week, 19 councilors allied to Mr. Oyollo a contender for the mayor’s seat had gone into hiding in the Ugandan lakeside city of Entebbe hoping they would return in time and participate in the council election.
Mayor Okello sensing defeat sought the assistance of the chairman of the Luo council of elders Mzee Opiyo Otondi who in the company of a prominent Kisumu businessman-cum-politician visited Raila Odinga’s Kisumu Milimani Estate residence and pleaded for his intervention. Raila in turn turned to the local ODM party chairman Dave Okwatch to intervene and reconcile the two groups. Okwatch hurriedly convened a meeting of the two factions, but it ended in more serious disagreement. Okwatch was later heard to have remarked that the Councilors were free to hold their election in a democratic manner because ODM is a party that adheres to tenets of democratic principles. At that point Rail Odinga was viewed to be neutral as far as Kisumu Mayoral election was concerned. But the residents were stunned and puzzled when the Prime Minister returned to the City within days and appeared to have taken side in favor of the outgoing Mayor.
In Siaya county council the police anti-riot officer were called in to quell a full scale fist combat when the rival group almost went for one another's throat. Tension had heightened when Councilors allied to the outgoing county chairman Aggrey Onyango realized that they could not garner sufficient number of votes to enable him sail through. The election ended in disarray after the two factions clashed.
The elections in other local council such as Kehancha County and Kehancha
Municipality were also conducted peacefully and so was the election in Migori
County and Migori Municipality. In the Awendo Town Council elected the incumbent chairman Johnson Omolo Owiro and his entire team were returned unopposed. Owiro retained his seat and so was the deputy chairman Martin Ondong’ while Ms Prisca Babu (nominated) retain her town planning committee, Benson Odera Awene (nominated) retained the chair of the environment committee, Mrs Roselyn Orocho Sakwa East Ward retained her education committee chairperson and the powerful finance committee chairmanship was retained by George Obuya Gaya Sakwa West Ward. Owiro told the media that the Council elections signified the trust and confidence the public had in the current administration.
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