An Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) National Delegates Conference in Kisumu on Wednesday lifted the lid on the deep rooted leadership wrangles in the county.
This comes amid an ongoing supremacy war between the county executive and legislature arms, where members of the county assembly have allegedly refused to pass the county budget.
Also at the middle of the same is the plot by the house to impeach two of Governor Anyang' Nyong'o's ministers, which has worsened the relationship between the two sides.
Leaders and delegates who took to the podium reacted to the same, calling for a truce between the rival sides, and unanimously agreed that it is portraying the county in bad light.
Kisumu Deputy Governor Mathews Owilli called for a President Uhuru Kenyatta-former Prime Minister-like approach, calling for a ceasefire and possible truce between the two sides.
“Let us tone down the squabbles. This is the time we need to unite. Let us emulate the example of the handshake between President Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga,” he said.
Nyando MP Jared Okello echoed the remarks, observing that the fights are affecting the image of the Odinga-led party.
On his part, ODM Executive Director Oduor Ongwen urged the MCAs to embrace better conflict resolution avenues, and not to use their positions to incapacitate the county leadership.
“Oversight doesn’t mean putting roadblocks on the way of the Executive. Currently ODM is controlling 16 of the 47 county governments. If any of them fail, then that means the party has failed,” he said.
In his speech, Majority Leader Ken Onyango termed the said wrangles as "normal misunderstanding".
While defending his house, Speaker Onyango Oloo said the house is only doing its job as per the law, which he said normally results in frictions.
"The oversight role always brings friction. You will have to bear with us. Differing opinions does not mean enmity,” said the former Kisumu Central parliamentary hopeful.