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Unrequited Love
Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga is cleaning his Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) house from what he claims is unrequited love from some of its members.
The former Prime Minister expelled Uriri MP Mark Nyamita after accusing him of a dalliance with the ruling party.
What Raila Said: "What has emerged from the briefing is that there is a clear and calculated plan to use state power to destabilise ODM-run counties and constituencies in partnership with rogue members of the party, some subject to ongoing disciplinary proceedings, who have since pledged allegiance to the regime. The idea seems to be to utilise state force particularly the police and the Provincial administration to prop up the so-called rebels in an attempt to penetrate our strongholds."
Nyamita's Grave Sin: The MP is said to have directed the police to teargas protesters and subsequently failed to appear before a disciplinary committee.
"Hon Nyamita was invited to today's meeting but failed to attend. At this
stage, the Party wishes to dissociate itself from Hon. Nyamita fully. We have granted his wish to no longer be part of us and advise our members in Uriri and Migori generally that he is an agent of UDA with the assigned task of sowing confusion and discord within ODM. Hon Nyamita does not speak for nor represent the Party at any level and we advise our members to view and treat him and all those who support him accordingly."
Catch Up Quick: The central committee meeting was convened to tackle the behaviour of elected leaders in Migori and Kisii counties that the former Prime Minister decried was an attempt by the ruling UDA to undermine its members elected in the regions.
- ODM complained that UDA leaders in Kisii "brandished employment letters from the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) and the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS)" disadvantaging the ODM MP.
- "The master puppeteer behind these schemes has been identified as none other than the PS for Internal Security Raymond Omollo. The Party condemns in the strongest terms, this blatant abuse of Police and State power to intimidate our people and prop up regime stooges in our strongholds."
Raila Resolve: The party will lodge formal complaints to the relevant authorities in the next few days and summon Education CS Ezekiel Machogu as well as his wildlife counterpart Alfred Mutua for questioning in Parliament
Going for Big Kahuna
Across the street, the Azimio la Umoja battalion led by Kalonzo Musyoka threatened to hit the streets should the government fail to reach an agreement with doctors.
The court extended the discussion period between the two parties with an additional 48 hours.
"We, ask the Kenya Kwanza regime to take advantage of the 48-hour window given by the courts and immediately reach an agreement with doctors that will see a resumption of normalcy in public hospitals. "Failure to which, we shall mobilise the public and other unions to join in a national," announced Musyoka in a 10-page speech obtained by the editors of this Newsletter.
(I talked to a KMPDU leader on whether a truce will be reached and what the bottlenecks are, check our responder below.)
Three other demands by Azimio: Azimio has been pushing for President William Ruto's regime to declare the flooding a national disaster. They also demand the compensation money Ruto promised to affected households to be raised from Ksh10,000 to Ksh100,000.
- "We note that the regime is forcefully evicting people from the areas perceived to be flood-prone and riparian land. Any such evacuations, whether mandatory or voluntary must be done in a humane manner that respects human rights without causing further deaths," Musyoka said. (Ruto has declared Friday a national holiday in honour of the victims in this coverage below)
Second; On the investigations regarding late CDF Francis Ogolla's crash, the opposition demands more openness claiming a lot of secrecy surrounds the process currently.
- "We too demand that a Parliamentary Select Committee inquiring into the tragedy be set up immediately. Kenyans are concerned and suspicious that the tragic death of the four-star general and his colleagues may be connected to sinister political machinations."
Third; The opposition declared Mithika Linturi's reign as Agriculture Minister a disaster and demanded a scrutinising impeachment process.
Ruto Sweet Surprises
Over in Kajiado County, the talk was entirely different.
President William Ruto declared Friday, May 10, a national holiday and directed all schools to reopen on Monday, May 13.
School reopening comes after two weeks of indefinite closure as floods continued wreaking havoc across the country and claiming 238 lives.
Ruto said the decision to reopen was made in consultation with the Meteorological Department, which has confirmed that the rains will subside in the coming days.
Ruto Directive: “All parents are now advised, based on the assessment of weather experts and the government, that it is safe for our children to go back to school.”
Grand Promise: Ruto said the government will release funds to the National Government Constituency Development Fund for rehabilitation of schools that have been damaged by the floods.
Friday Holiday
The Head of State declared Friday a holiday to remember lives affected by the floods.
Freedom But: Ruto wants the day to extensive tree-planting programme for restoring the environment to reverse the challenges of climate change.
Task to Kenyans: The plan is to plant 200 million trees on the day and each Kenyan will plant at least 50 trees.
View From FKE; I reached out to an official from the Federation of Kenyan Employers (FKE) on whether the declaration will affect employers. The source withheld his comments awaiting the publication of the Gazette Notice side human pronouncements hold less strength.
Chat With KMPDU Official
Last night, the Kenya Medical Practitioners Pharmacists and Dentists Union held talks with Health CS Susan Nakhumicha that extended past midnight but failed to reach an agreement.
I reached out to KMPDU Deputy Secretary General Dennis Miskellah over the bottlenecks that collapsed the talks and here is our chat;
Derrick Okubasu: I am following up on a meeting between KMPDU and CS Nakhumicha that ran into midnight. Was any agreement reached?
Dennis Miskellah: No, no. There are some two issues that are still pending that made us not conclude the conversations.
Derrick Okubasu: What are the issues?
Dennis Miskellah: The issues were that they agreed to pay the money that they owe us and commit when they are going to effect the changes on the payslips because if they don't effect the changes then the arrears will keep piling up. We told them to tell us when they will do that and they needed to get clarification from the Treasury
The other issue was about the internship. We had not agreed on if they will post them as per the CBA and when.
Derrick Okubasu: So the strike will continue?
Dennis Miskellah: We have to agree and without agreeing there is nothing. The strike continues. The court did not call for the strike so the court cannot order us to go back.
(Closure: Shortly after finalising this interview, KMPDU signed an agreement ending the nationwide doctors' strike that has lasted for 56 days.)
Here are five other stories we have prepared for you today;
- The National Construction Authority's preliminary investigations showed that the ground floor columns of the Uthiru building buckled causing the ground and first floor to sink.
- Mombasa is the third-best tourist destination in the world in 2024 due to its affordability.
- The landlady of the collapsed Uthiru building had sent a worrying message to tenants before the tragedy.
- Government Spokesperson Isaac Mwaura escapes unscathed after a chopper he was travelling in made an emergency landing.
- Parliamentary Committee ordered investigations on companies registered under the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) over tax evasion claims.
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This newsletter was written by Derrick Kubasu and edited by Brian Muuo.
Washington Mito contributed to the content.
Graphics prepared by Adongo Kyalo.
