TENSIONS RISE IN MIGORI COUNTY OVER GOVERNOR OKOTH OBADO’S IMPEACHMENT MOTION

 

Governor Okoth Obado

The impending impeachment motion against Migori County Governor, Okoth Obado is raising tensions in the county. This is happening ahead of a week the expected motion to impeach the County boss will be tabled before the assembly with the full backing of the ODM party headquarters in Nairobi. Party Chairman John Mbadi, while addressing the press this week, accused Obado of reigning terror on Migori residents as well as the party leadership.

According to Mbadi, “what Obado is doing in Migori is simply to visit terror on people, and he has done it for far too long, he now even thinks he can visit terror on the party leadership. I want to tell him he’s mistaken.” Some of the members of the County Assembly claim that they have received threats. The latest claim in this regard is the alleged attack on the Speaker of the county assembly of Migori, Boaz Okoth in Kisumu on Friday night.

                                           Migori County assembly in session 

The attack on the speaker comes after several MCAs also complained that they had received threats, among them is Uhuru Bay ward MCA Heverone Maira. The speaker of the county assembly states that a large group of youth threatened to injure him due to the position that he had taken on the impeachment issue. The incident happened at his residence, Ruby Courts in Kisumu. He goes on to claim that at the time when the incident happened, Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Secretary-General Edwin Sifuna was present. He stated that as the group of youth attacked him, they told him that there was nothing that he would do to stop the impeachment of the county boss.

Mr Okoth said, “These people wanted to harm me yet in this impeachment circus I am a neutral person whose mandate is clear. I have been sick for close to a year and there is nobody I can harm. That is why I am wondering why Sifuna and his goons wanted to harm me”. The speaker went on to state that the threats were a way of ensuring that the MCAs in the county voted in a predetermined manner,37 MCAs have already signed the petition. 

Political analyst Onyango Onyango Jr. said on his Facebook page that he believes that the problems governor Obado is facing are political and the loud push to have him go has everything to do with three things:

1. Post-Raila Odinga political succession in South Nyanza region and that Mbadi is trying to establish his kingdom there, Migori and Homa Bay. This sibling rivalry will get bloody, and nasty.

2. Post-Referendum -Regional Governments, where assuming Homabay, Kisii, Nyamira, and Migori are fused into a region, should Obado vie for Regional Governor, he will win with a landslide. He is, therefore, an enemy. A serious threat to future ambitions!

3. This is painful. Have you noticed everyone around Raila suddenly wants to be a governor? They are either giving up on his presidency, or they simply want to be their own "presidents".