BY KNA’s Philip Onyango
Elected leaders from Gem constituency, Siaya have maintained their full support of the Orange Democratic Movement party, despite snubbing last week’s Saba Saba demonstrations called by the opposition.
Gem Member of Parliament Elisha Odhiambo and Members of the Siaya county Assembly; Seth Baraka Ochieng (East Gem), Silas Madingu (Central Gem), and Brian Ochieng Anyango Obiero (South Gem) told a congregation at Owila Church of Christ in Africa in Gem constituency that they were committed to the unity of both the constituency and Siaya county at large and on the material day, they were in a meeting aimed at championing reconciliation between governor James Orengo and legislator Odhiambo.
Addressing the media after the church service, the leaders called for reconciliation amongst Siaya leaders, adding that hard-line tones adopted by some would negatively affect service delivery.
Legislator Odhiambo, who has of late been accused of drifting towards Kenya Kwanza, maintained that he was in ODM to stay, adding that he would be the next Secretary General of the party.
“I am a member of the ODM and I will be the next Secretary General. They must allow me to vie for the post,” he said adding that he would accept defeat and support whoever would win the contest once party elections are called.
Odhiambo said that as an MP, he would work with all MCAs from his constituency to ensure optimum service delivery to the electorate.
He however said that there was the need for accommodation of divergent views.
“We need to embrace each other and must get this country to a level that can appreciate that leadership is about providing solutions,” he said.
The legislator denied that his meeting with the elected Gem constituency MCAs on July 7, 2023, the day that the opposition called for demonstrations was a deliberate move to scuttle the protests in the Gem constituency.
The MCAs who also addressed the media said that their meeting with the legislator was aimed at building reconciliation between Odhiambo and Siaya governor James Orengo, noting that the strained relations between the two were impacting on the area’s development.
“We went to plead with the MP to tone down on his attacks on Governor Orengo and urge him to sit down with him and iron out their differences,” said East Gem MCA Ochieng.
They further said that they wanted to establish from the legislator whether Siaya County Government and the Assembly had been informed of the proposed presidential visit slated for later this month.
They lamented that the meeting with the MP had been misconstrued to mean that they had been compromised to ditch ODM.
“If there is anything we have done to the contrary, we apologize,” said Seth Baraka Ochieng.
Ochieng (South Gem ward MCA) said they further discussed the division within the ODM party in the Gem constituency, saying that there was a need for the merger of the parallel offices that were running party affairs in the area.
During the occasion, the MP called on Siaya residents to turn up in large numbers to welcome President Ruto during his visit slated for later this month, adding that both the Gem constituency and the entire county benefited significantly from the presidential goodies.