ODM boss Raila Odinga. [Photo/ D. Messenger]
The move by NASA leader Raila Odinga to reward his family members and close friends from Nyanza with all the top seats in parliament should not surprise anyone who knows the opposition chief well. Raila has nominated his brother, Dr Oburu Odinga, to the East Africa Legislative Assembly (EALA), ODM chairman and Suba South MP John Mbadi as the minority leader in the national assembly, his buddy Junet Mohammed (Suna East) as minority whip. After the names were submitted to national assembly speaker Justin Muturi, NASA MPs from other parts of the country, including the Coast region and other areas protested the nominations, vowing to resist them. Although Raila has been getting support from North Eastern, Eastern, Coast, Western and Gusii regions, he has always skipped these minority groups when it comes to making influential appointments. He has always rewarded his relatives and politicians from Nyanza who give him money. His running mate in the NASA presidential ticket, Kalonzo Musyoka, has reigned on his Wiper Party members to pick his son, Kennedy Kalonzo, to be an MP in EALA. The move had been widely opposed by the party officials. The Coast MPs may abandon Raila because of the nominations to parliament, which did not have any woman. “Coast region had a big contribution to Nasa’s numbers. We will not accept this list. If Coast is not accepted, we will resist... as they are ‘resisting’,” said Msambweni MP Suleiman Dori, who is also the Coast Parliamentary Group chairman.Some Kenyans who supported Raila’s presidential bid have said the ODM leader would have given all the government jobs to his relatives and close friends — and not deserving Kenyans.