Central Gem member of County Assembly Fred Ouda (center) celebrates with his supporters after being handed ODM certificate to run for Kisumu Central parliamentary seat. Last year the MCA stripped naked while issuing a press statement in Siaya county to show his displeasure over a tweet allegedly posted by Deputy President William Ruto. PIC BY COLLINS ODUOR

Bickering and claims of misuse of public funds are among reasons that saw 26 out of 34 Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) ward reps in Kisumu lose out in the nominations.

ODM has been the leading player in the supremacy wars that have rocked the assembly.

From 2015, members of the party have ousted three majority leaders with the most recent casualty being Kobura MCA Malin Akinyi, who was kicked out in December last year.

Due to the perennial disputes at the county assembly, ODM chief Raila Odinga intervened in 2015 and brokered a deal that saw deputy speaker Pamela Omino allowed to temporarily chair sessions.

Early this year, the ODM head office was forced to intervene again when it rejected the move by the MCAs to elect Awasi/Onjiko MCA Fanuel Aim as the new majority leader.

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 Bonding trip

Residents have been accusing the MCAs of doing little to support party leader Raila Odinga’s bid for the presidency.

On February 1, angry youths stormed the assembly and ejected MCAs and told them to go out and mobilise residents to register as voters, days after they (MCAs) had returned from a Sh15 million bonding trip to Tanzania.

And so in the party primaries, the voters sent home 26 out of the 34 elected MCAs, including two former majority leaders.

In Nyakach and Kisumu East constituencies, all the elected MCAs were shown the door by the electorate while in Nyando Constituency only one was nominated.

In Seme, however, three MCAs were allowed to fly the ODM ticket for a second term while in Kisumu Central, former member of the speaker’s panel Elijah Omondi, an MCA representing Central Nyakach ward, defeated his ODM chief whip Isaya Onyango in Railways Ward.

Two ODM nominated MCAs, Pamela Owuor and Caroline Ogot, have also been nominated to contest elective posts

Kisumu residents accused the ousted members of doing little to develop their wards.

“Our MCAs have done very little and have always only been making news for things like unnecessary foreign trips,” said John Okech from North Kisumu Ward.