Confusion, violence, and alleged abductions rock ODM's grassroots elections

Confusion, parallel polls by rival party members and pockets of violence rocked ODM party grassroots elections in several parts of the country, presenting party leader Raila Odinga with a fresh headache on how to pacify the party.

While in some places, members adopted consensus to settle on leaders, others were total chaos as sibling rivalries rocked the exercise.

The party is conducting elections for delegates as part of an effort to strengthen its grassroots support ahead of the 2027 General Elections.

In Migori County, different groups held parallel elections at the constituency level, each claiming legitimacy.

Incumbents were determined to retain their positions and organized parallel elections at separate venues, distinct from the designated election centers. Parallel elections took place in Suna West and Rongo Sub-Counties.

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In Suna West Sub-County, area MP Peter Masara led elections at Moi Suba, while another group, claiming to be ODM delegates, conducted their elections at Piny Oyie.

The MP's faction celebrated their victory by parading around Migori town.

At the same time, the other faction decided to conduct ward elections before proceeding to the constituency elections.

Jackson Ochieng, who was elected Suna West organizing secretary by the separate faction, said they would not accept any other list.

He claimed Piny Oyie was the only legitimate election venue and urged the election board to disregard any other list.

"We cannot recognize any separate election held in another location," Ochieng stated.

Charles Odhiambo, who represents persons with disabilities, highlighted that the party provided them an equal opportunity to participate in the elections, which he said was conducted peacefully.

Donella Dolly, who was elected women leader by the group, maintained that anyone holding elections at a school was making a mistake.

"This is the official center where elections were to be conducted in Suna West Sub-County," Dolly stated.

Suna East Sub-County, which had conducted parallel elections on April 7, harmonized their lists yesterday and held a single constituency election at Ngege Primary School.

Election Committee Chairman for Migori County, Walter Ogada, stated that if they received three lists from a single constituency, they would only use the list provided by their official returning officers.

"That is what we will consider as the official document," Ogada affirmed.

According to the chairman, they will not exclude factions without their official returning officers, clerks and presiding officers but will forward their recommendations to the national office for review.

In Mombasa, some party members claimed the election process had been hijacked by certain individuals, while others vowed to conduct parallel polls.

The faction led by Betty Sharon raised concerns, claiming that internal party democracy had been undermined and that they were conducting parallel grassroots elections.

She asserted that her faction consisted of bona fide party members and was the only group carrying out ODM polls from the grassroots level.

"We are currently holding grassroots election at the Ward level in Bamburi and Mtopanga," she said.

Sharon confirmed that multiple factions are holding parallel grassroots elections in the county due to ongoing disagreements.

She addressed the media at Baptist Primary School in Mtopanga Ward, Kisauni Constituency, Mombasa County, where her faction clashed with the group led by incumbent chairman Hamid Khamis, also known as Dee, who has since dismissed her faction.

Yesterday,Sharon asserted that her faction's grassroots elections were legitimate, citing their successful sub-county level elections last year.

A human rights activist, Sharon emphasized that her faction would submit their returns to the party secretariat to determine who conducted the genuine grassroots polls.

She argued for the need for democracy within the party, voicing strong opposition to members conducting grassroots elections in hotel boardrooms.

"I was one of the people asked to submit my name to a posh hotel, but I declined," Sharon claimed.

She accused an unnamed family of attempting to monopolize ODM affairs in the county, which she said had led to divisions within the party during the grassroots election process.

Mwanakuu Ali, speaking on behalf of the group, asserted that they were bona fide elected delegates from Mtopanga Ward, having conducted their grassroots elections according to the party's guidelines and the ODM constitution.

She added that they had successfully forwarded their list of ward delegates to the party headquarters in Nairobi, expressing confusion over the origins of the current dispute. "We are currently wondering where the confusion has emerged from," she said.

Tensions were high in Western Kenya after the returning officer in Lurambi constituency, Esau Omung'ala, was allegedly abducted hours before the party elections.

Omung'ala, who was overseeing the elections, was reportedly abducted under unclear circumstances and later tortured. The incident occurred while he was in town at a hotel, taking tea, and was reported at the Kakamega Central Police Station with the Occurrence Book number OB116.

Grassroots leaders, led by Vincent Mumia, condemned the abduction, stating that the officer was undressed and tortured by the assailants but was later rescued by the police.

“We condemn the incident where the presiding officer was abducted and tortured. We call on the police to expedite investigations and bring those responsible to justice,” Mumia said.

Lurambi Member of Parliament Bishop Titus Khamala also condemned the violence, emphasizing the importance of ODM primaries. "ODM is the party of interest in some areas, and people think that winning the party primaries brings them closer to victory in the general elections, which fuels the high-stakes and violence in these elections," Khamala stated.

In Homa Bay, elections for branch officials proceeded smoothly across several constituencies, with no reported cases of violence yesterday, in contrast to the violent incidents that marred the ward elections on Monday.

In Karachuonyo Constituency, George Maigo was elected chairman, while Grace Owich was chosen as the women’s leader and Kenneth Obong’o as the youth leader, along with other officials.

In Suba North Constituency, Narkiso Tuko was elected chairman.

“I thank the people of Suba North for electing me. I urge our people to join hands to strengthen this party further,” Tuko said.

This development came as the Political Parties Disputes Tribunal (PPDT) suspended the ODM grassroots elections in Rangwe Constituency.

The ODM grassroots elections had reached the third stage, which was to be conducted across all eight constituencies in Homa Bay County on Wednesday.

However, the PPDT intervened and suspended the elections in Rangwe Constituency following a case filed by Richard Opano, Clifford Obiero, and two others. They sued the Homa Bay County Elections Coordinating Committee, the ODM National Elections Board, and another defendant.

[Report by Benard Lusigi, Anne Atieno, James Omoro and Nehemiah Okwembah]