Raila's nagging headache in Western as Khalwale, Oparanya duel shapes up

The entry of Senator Bonni Khalwale into the Kakamega gubernatorial race is threatening to jolt the political support the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) enjoys in Western.

Already, cracks are beginning to emerge within the party, with some members claiming Khalwale has the blessings of ODM bigwigs as he prepares to challenge Governor Wycliffe Oparanya, who is also deputy party leader.

Kakamega Senator, Bonny Khalwale. Without mincing his words, he announced he would challenge Kakamega County Governor Wycliffe Oparanya in 2017.(PHOTO: COURTESY)

Only last Saturday, ODM loyalists allied to Oparanya and Mahiakalo MCA Cleophas Malala clashed at a funeral in Matungu constituency in the presence of party leader Raila Odinga.

At the event, Khalwale sided with Malala by openly taking on the governor. Without mincing words, he announced he would challenge him in 2017.

Although Khalwale has not declared which party he will contest, he gave a strong hint last weekend when he claimed he would go to the primaries with Oparanya and beat him. The senator has lately been associating with ODM and CORD, and maintains he has no appologies to make for turning his back on UDF.

The bullfighter maintains he is still in UDF until the next elections, saying the Political Parties Act allows him to associate with any coalition.

Open options

“I am in UDF until 2017. I am not desperate or dying to be in ODM, I have many options. However, the law allows me to associate with other coalitions but not parties,’’ said Khalwale. He continued: “If I choose to run on ODM, I will not consult the party leader or any official. I will go to the registrar of parties direct to change membership.”

However, as the fight between the two takes shape, Raila faces the dilemma of who to back. Already there have been claims that some quarters in ODM favour Khalwale over Oparanya.

“If its true Raila favours me, I won’t be surprised. Why should he support a loser? The party wants to maintain its stronghold in Kakamega. ODM is a public organ and any member is there by right. Oparanya should stop confusing political fever with legal right of membership to ODM,’’ added Khalwale.

But Oparanya says those fighting him are being used by outside forces to destabilise the party.

He defended his claims by saying ODM was a power house in Western and that its rivals are bent on wrecking it from within.

“Our members should remain firm in ODM and stop listening to propaganda spread by other people. We are keen and we will not allow detractors to interfere with our party affairs. ODM has strong support in Western and that is why other parties are targeting Kakamega,” Oparanya said.

He warned those dissatisfied with the party to quit saying rebels have personal interests and not goals that may strengthen the party in the long run.

Word of caution

On the day supporters of Oparanya on one hand and those of Malala and Khalwale on the other clashed in Matungu, Raila reprimanded the combatants, saying they should not allow their differences to sow seeds of discord.

Some local political leaders now say depending on how Raila handles the Kakamega situation, a fallout may be in the offing given that supporters of the two leaders are keenly watching. Some ODM MPs, however, downplayed the divisions between Oparanya and Khalwale claiming the problem is not unique to Kakamega County and is not particularly a party affair. The MPs urged the Governor and the Senator to respect each other. “What happened in Matungu is not an ODM matter but a Kakamega issue. The party leadership should reconcile the disgruntled groups. Parties often strategise towards elections but at the moment, ODM members in Western have not met or made any declarations,’’ said Likuyani MP Enock Kibunguchy.

“ODM is still strong in the region and Matungu incident should not be narrowed into a party matter. This is political competition which healthy,’’ said Funyula MP Paul Otuoma.

Sirisia MP John Waluke wondered why the party leader has not strongly condemned the Matungu incident, saying no one should be favoured by the party.

“People fighting in his presence sends out wrong signals that there’s indiscipline and lack of order among party members,” said Waluke. Former Shinyalu MP and UDF Secretary General Justus Kizito claimed top leadership of the Orange party was using Khalwale as Oparanya’s checkmate. “This is a succession war and former top ODM leaders have suffered the same fate. We know the game the party is playing to portray Oparanya as a weak deputy party leader. They want to keep him busy in the county and out of national politics,’’ claimed Kizito.

Big blow

During 2013 elections, Raila garnered majority votes in the region. Analysts point out that if ODM loses its grip in Western region, it will be a devastating blow to the party’s popularity.

“A simple extrapolation suggests the Raila factor among the Luhya electorate may have been on a decline,’’ observed Prof Amukoa Anagwe, a political analyst and lecturer at Dodoma University in Tanzania.

ODM National Youth leader Rashid Mohamed claimed there’s a possibility of the region rebelling against ODM if Raila fails to address issues affecting them.