In his bid to tame the growing rebellion within his Orange Democratic Movement Party, Raila Odinga has fired the first blow to the perceived Coast rebels led by Malindi MP Aisha Jumwa and her Msambweni counterpart Suleiman Dori with a threat to take disciplinary action against them.
The two vocal MPs have in the past publicly declared their support for Deputy President, William Ruto in his 2022 presidential bid, a move that has rattled the party.
The party has now given the duo seven days ultimatum to respond as to why disciplinary action should not be initiated against them, failure to which the outfit will start a crackdown that may have a bearing on Ruto’s own political future in the region.
Should the two second-term MPs make hasty retreat in supporting the DP and toe to the party line, then Ruto would have been dealt a major political blow in his attempts to make inroads in the region.
However, should they accept that disciplinary action be taken against them which may culminate in their expulsion which may see them lose their seats, the resulting by-election may test the DP’s growing popularity in the region.