PS Omollo Challenges Raila Over Expulsion Of Rebel ODM MPs

Interior Principal Secretary (PS) Raymond Omollo on Sunday, September 10 accused Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader, Raila Odinga, of showing bias regarding the expulsion of five members from the party.

Speaking in Uriri Constituency, the PS in President William Ruto's administration cited a worrying concern in which ODM leaders working with the government in Luo Nyanza were subjected to consequences from the party while those from other regions were spared.

The five MPs expelled from ODM were Lang'ata MP Felix Odiwuor aka Jalang'o, Gideon Ochanda (Bondo), Elisha Odhiambo (Gem), and Kisumu Senator, Prof Tom Ojienda.

Some of the nominated MCAs from Kisumu, Homa Bay and Migori were also affected.

Omollo believed that the political elite should look back on the occurrences in the region's politics before making knee-jerk decisions.

"Although I'm a civil servant, who is barred from making political statements, I'm concerned as a son of Nyanza about the politics of our region.

"We have to ask ourselves tough questions regarding what's going on in the region. Why is it that only ODM elected leaders from the region are punished for associating with President Ruto or senior officers in his government while those who do so from other regions are spared by the ODM party leader?" he posed.

The PS however clarified that he is a government official mandated to serve every Kenyan and it is a worrying concern that even MCAs from the opposition party are banned from meeting President Ruto for whatever reason.

"Those who met me from Kisumu, Homa Bay and Migori were reprimanded. The truth is, the leadership of the party has no respect for the people of Luo Nyanza," he said.

"We have supported them for far too long that they now disrespect us as a people."

The PS also claimed that the ODM leadership under the former prime minister had taken the support and loyalty of the Luo nation for granted.

"We have become their slaves for the longest time. We have elevated some of us to a level where they now look down upon us.

"We have agreed to be their slaves to a point where they no longer believe we are worth anything of value. It is time we told ourselves the truth if we want any meaningful change and development as a community," Omollo noted.

He appealed to the people of Luo Nyanza to shun the naysayers and listen to what others opposed to ODM politics are telling them.

Omollo observed that Uriri MP Mark Nyamita and the other leaders considered rebels in ODM visited the president just the same way the Homa Bay governor Gladys Wanga and Ochilo Ayako (Migori) met the president in Kisumu when Ruto toured the region.

"In fact, Kisumu governor Prof Anyan'g Nyong'o spent three days with the president at Kisumu State Lodge. Even the Siaya governor James Orengo met the president when he toured Siaya at that time.

"The truth is the party leader Raila Odinga himself has met the president at night in Mombasa," he claimed.

The PS concluded by stating that the time was right for the Nyanza people to be told the truth if they expect the region to make economic strides.

"Why do leaders fight to form a government? It is because of the urge to bring development to people and that's exactly what the ODM leaders working with the government are trying to do," Omollo noted.

"Today, Nyamita has brought the speaker Moses Wetangula here. He is a member of the government, just like we also have the CS for health who serves in government. You can't be happy to take the money they donate in support of development programmes but hate the government they serve in."

Interior PS Dr Raymond Omollo at a function in Uriri Constituency on Sunday, September 10, 2023. /RAYMOND OMOLLO