By Joshua Odhiambo Nyamori
This is indeed a perfect opportunity for Migori electorate to break new grounds and set another example that tyranny, in whatever name, can be defeated.
It is clear that Eddy Oketch Muok Ratego is exciting the ground right now. This has awoken ODM from its slumber in the comfort of the handshake and its entire machinery is now encamping in Migori, in a defensive move, so as not to “kuodo wi Jakom (embarrass Jakom)”
The voters of Migori must be warned. Unless they unite around the popular candidate, Muok, and get themselves out to vote, they are bound to lose to ODM’s unpopular candidate, Ochillo Ayako.
Let the voters not forget that, even with the unpopularity of its candidate, the disenchantment over party leadership’s stand on many issues recently, ODM still has the most entrenched structure on the ground. The ground is also being prepared for the Party Leader Raila Odinga to come for a whirlwind campaign to emotionally whip the whole or a major part of the County in favour of Ochillo Ayako.
With pockets of votes here and there, supported by the party structure, Ochillo may pull a surprise, by winning, not as the popular candidate, but rather, as the unpopular candidate whose party could mobilize and get out most of their votes in his favour. Dissenting voters in Nyanza rarely come out to vote because they fear violent reprisal by the ODM’s organized gangs, otherwise christened “yuthe”.
My advice to the voters of Migori who are opposed to Ochillo’s candidature is that they must rally around Eddy and knock every door in the County villages to get out the votes for him. Eddy’s campaign system must now shift its focus from rallies and roadshow to getting out the votes at the household level and protection of that vote. This should include organizing its own Rapid Response system. Eddy must know that ODM will most likely find favour with the IEBC and police. Their strategies must therefore be based on political guerrilla attacks against an entrenched system.
Migori voters must remember that this struggle is not simply about them. Many of us who dream of change in Nyanza are praying for them to succeed as this will be a manifestation that it is possible to defeat tyranny in the region. But they have a lot of work to do in the next few days if this is to become a reality.
But even if Eddy fails, he will have made a contribution to the struggle. No one imagined that one day Caesar would fall. He sent many critics to the noose man, In submission, the Romans sang his praise, “Hail Caesar”. But one day, these very Romans were in the streets celebrating the collapse of the empire. The current empire in Luo land will one day collapse, one way or the other. I have no doubt in my mind about this.
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