By LUKE AWICH
Opposition chief Raila Odinga is in Mombasa to chair a key decision-making organ of his party, the Star has established.
The three-day retreat comes at a time when Parliament is set to make a key decision to either send home or save Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.
The ODM National Executive Committee meeting started on Friday and is set to end on Sunday.
This is the first time Raila is convening a party meeting since Gachagua’s impeachment process began. Gachagu’s allies are pointing an accusing finger at the opposition for lending a hand in bringing down the DP.
Some Chungwa House sources intimated to the Star that the issue of ODM and UDA’s relationship will also be on the table. ODM top officials were, however, quick to delink the meeting from the ongoing political happenings, insisting it will be purely a housekeeping retreat.
“We are just having a NEC retreat. We are not discussing anything to do with local politics,” ODM deputy Party leader Goeffrey Osotsi told the Star on phone.
According to the Vihiga senator, the retreat was planned earlier. “It has nothing to do with the current politics because it had been done much earlier, three months ago.”
Gachagua’s foot soldiers, James Gakuyu (Embakasi North) and Muranga senator Joe Nyutu have blamed the Orange party for wrecking the Kenya Kwanza vote.
“I want to be very clear in this case, William Ruto and the mover of the motion could not have won this battle if Raila was not in it therefore Raila came in for a purpose,” Gakuya said on Friday in an interview with K24 television.
“If ODM members vote to impeach Rigathi Gachagua, then ODM will not convince anybody that ODM was not brought into government with sole purpose to kick out the Deputy President,” Nyutu said.
With the ouster motion now before the senate, ODM’s 20 senators will be instrumental in deciding whether the DP is impeached or not.
Gachagua needs 23 senators to deny proponents of the motion the requisite two-thirds threshold required to confirm the impeachment.
Osotsi added that the NEC meeting will discuss three main agenda, including the proposed grassroots elections set to start next month.
In April, the Orange Party had indefinitely postponed the vote citing the heavy rains that had caused floods in some parts of the country.
“We are going to direct that National Election Coordinating committee to commence preparations for the grassroots elections in November.”
The NEC will also deliberate and approve the recent party appointments. “We are going to get NEC approval to the new leaders who have been appointed to the positions including the deputy party leaders,” Osotsi said.
ODM’s Central Management Committee had in August settled on governors Simba Arati and Abdulswamad Nassir as well as the Vihiga senator as ODM deputy party leaders.
The Committee also picked Kisumu Governor Anyang’ Nyong’o to chair meetings in Raila’s absence.
According to the ODM constitution, all key decisions of the Central Management Committee must be ratified by NEC