Kisii UDA governor candidate Ezekiel Machogu has suffered a setback after over 30 Kenya Kwanza MCA candidates publicly declared their support for his ODM opponent Simba Arati in the upcoming elections.
The MCAs vowed to throw their weight behind the Azimio la Umoja candidate against their alliance, stating that they want to support someone who will foster unity and development.
Mr Charles Lwanga Ongwae, the chairman of the Kenya Kwanza alliance in Kisii County, Mr Alex Oyaro of Birongo ward in Nyaribari Chache, who presented himself as the secretary-general of the alliance in Kisii County, and Mr Dismas Ondara, a candidate for the Bokimonge ward seat, led the group.
They accused their party leadership of alleged deception and opaqueness whenever dealing with their issues associated with the ongoing campaigns.
“Last week, we issued an ultimatum that unless issues affecting wananchi who support the Kenya Kwanza movement are not taken seriously and addressed promptly, we will take a different direction. As chairman has stated, Kenya Kwanza leadership is full of opaqueness with highly avaricious individuals,” said Mr Oyaro.
Mr Oyaro alleged that Kenyan Kwanza was full of cartels who allegedly diverted campaign money for personal use, leaving the MCAs without any support.
“Whenever we raise accountability questions, we are told to hold on,” said Mr Oyaro. “We have decided to withdraw our support for the Kenya Kwanza alliance to support Mr Arati for the good of Kisii County voters.”
No longer habitable
Mr Lwanga said the Kenya Kwanza house is no longer habitable and that the “bottom-up” economic model is not applicable because candidates at the lowest level have been neglected.
“The gubernatorial candidate we were fighting for, Mr Machogu, went to UDA and sank there and forgot that there are smaller houses in Kenya Kwanza. Today, we have decided to throw our weight behind the youthful Mr Arati,” he said.
Mr Ondara said the agenda driven by UDA is just meant to seek votes but it is not being implemented. He said that after analysing the country’s and county’s politics, they had agreed to support Mr Arati.
“Hustlers who decided to fight their way in leadership and in life are being oppressed and cannot therefore help the struggling members of the community,” he said.
The declaration came as Kisii County Governor James Ongwae, who has been campaigning against Mr Arati, rejected claims that he is supporting UDA through Mr Machogu’s candidacy.
Claims of Ongwae backing UDA
There have been claims from some ODM leaders in the county that after sensing that Azimio governor candidates in Kisii may not beat Mr Arati, Mr Ongwae started supporting the UDA candidate behind the scenes.
The county chief also dismissed as fake a letter purporting to have originated from his office that alleged he was fully behind UDA, days after he embarked on a series of meetings in which he appealed to the people of Kisii to vote for anyone else but Mr Arati, the ODM candidate.
Mr Ongwae has been speaking on vernacular radio and TV stations beseeching Kisii residents to reject the ODM candidate, whom he describes in unprintable epithets, and vowed to have anyone else in the Azimio camp elected but Mr Arati.
“Thank you members of the fourth estate and I am going to speak to you about a matter that I find disturbing and laughable … I have noted that there is a letter that has been circulating, which has a bogus letterhead from the Kisii County government, that I have joined UDA. I find that letter laughable,” said Mr Ongwae.
Describing the alleged letter as trash, he stated: “I have worked and been with Raila Odinga for over 20 years. I will work with Raila Odinga for eternity.”
He also attacked unnamed individuals that he alleged were afraid of the imminent political transition. He said they had created what he termed unfounded rumours to tarnish his name.
“I want to make it very, very clear that letter is fake. There are people who are looking for votes here in Kisii who probably think that if they put my name there, they would get those votes,” he said.
“There are also those thinking that if they link me to UDA, they will throw me off balance to their transitional arrangements.”
