Former Police Spokesperson Charles Owino has quit the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Party led by former Prime Minister Raila Odinga.
On Tuesday, March 29, 2022, Owino joined the United Democratic Movement (UDM) Party where he will vie for the Siaya Gubernatorial seat.
The former police spokesperson revealed that he left ODM Party after he was asked to step aside in favour of another candidate.
"I paid for ODM nomination and I was to participate but I was asked to step down for an individual," Owino stated as he announced his move to UDM.
Owino joined hands with former Rarieda Member of Parliament Nicholas Gumbo.
The two have not yet clarified whether they will front one of them as the main aspirant. However, reports have intimated that Owino will deputies Gumbo.
In March Owino officially joined ODM where he was received by the Chairperson of the ODM Alego-Usonga branch in Siaya town.
He was also installed by a section of elders as an aspirant for the highly contested seat. Owino, who resigned from the public service in June 2021, noted that the move was a change from his career as a police officer which spanned nearly 30 years.
While hunting for votes, Owino had stated that his administration will be based on improving the quality of life for Siaya residents. He also noted that he supports the 'pesa mfukoni', an initiative that is one of the five-point manifestoes by the Kenya Kwanza Alliance.
"My policy is simple, pesa mfukoni, ugali kwa meza. What does it mean? It means that we want a system where each and every person will be able to make his own money and put it in his own pocket and that everybody will be able to have food on his table," he explained.
His reasons for leaving ODM remain unclear since he had expressed optimism that the party would hold free and fair nominations.
He was to face off with heavyweights from the region including; Senator James Orengo, Deputy Governor James Okumbe, Otieno Okanja, Ex-United Nations (UN) official Bella Akinyi, advocate George Mugoye Mbeya, and former banker Otieno Okanja.
Gumbo's interest in the gubernatorial race, further complicated ODM Party Raila Odinga's arithmetic since all of the front runners are his allies.
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