Kasipul Constituency aspirant Newton Ogada has accused the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) of conducting unfair nominations that could lead to the party’s downfall.
On Tuesday, September 30, Ogada expressed deep frustration with what he described as a flawed nomination process that favored a predetermined candidate rather than reflecting the genuine will of party members.
“I don’t understand where we are heading with the party ODM, if what we saw was the clear evidence of voting in the party ODM,” Ogada stated.
The aspirant, who claims to have been a loyal ODM member since 2006, said the recent primaries confirmed his worst fears about the party’s internal democracy.
“This is the party that I’ve been into from 2006 until today. And we have been complaining every election that the nominations are not done in a fair way. But this time I was a candidate and I witnessed everything from the beginning,” he said.
Ogada emphasized that ODM should not be treated as personal property but as a collective entity belonging to all its members.
“I’m just urging the party that the party does not belong to an individual. The party belongs to all of us. But the way they conduct their nominations is not the correct way,” he argued.
The aspirant claimed that the nomination exercise in Kasipul was designed to favor a specific candidate chosen by party leadership rather than being a genuine electoral process.
“What happened in this constituency was not a vote, but an exercise to favor one person of their choice. Because before these nominations, you see, I’ve been out telling the people that the party has decided to give one candidate more than the rest,” Ogada alleged.
Drawing parallels with other political parties that have declined due to poor management, Ogada issued a stark warning about ODM’s future.
“I am telling the party that if we don’t mind correcting such incidents and nonsense, we will lose our beloved ODM party,” he cautioned.
Ogada’s concerns come after a contentious nomination process in Kasipul Constituency that was marred by disruptions and allegations from multiple quarters.
Boyd Were, son of the late Kasipul MP Ong’ondo Were, ultimately secured the ODM ticket for the upcoming by-election.
Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga congratulated him on Wednesday, September 24, describing the outcome as reflecting the will of Kasipul residents.
However, the nomination process had been disrupted earlier, prompting ODM’s National Election Board to issue a statement.
Chairperson Emily Awita confirmed that the exercise scheduled for that day had been postponed following what the party described as a violent invasion of the election materials distribution center.
“This has been occasioned by the violent invasion of the election materials distribution centre by one of the aspirants, a Mr. Newton Ogada, who is alleged to have arrived with goons and started threatening the Returning Officer and other officials,” the statement read.
The situation was further complicated by the unexpected arrival of Homa Bay County Deputy Governor Douglas Orindo, who allegedly came to the venue uninvited.
“The process was further delayed by the arrival of the Deputy Governor of Homabay County, Hon. Douglas Orindo, who is not a candidate in the primaries,” the statement noted. “This unnecessary disruption has caused the delay in the exercise, which was supposed to be closed at 6:00 pm.”
