Oburu Oginga has withdrawn his application to the East African Legislative Assembly, after leader of majority in the National Assembly, Aden Duale , claimed that he had been shortlisted for the position. Oburu, who had been nominated through the ODM party, said he declined the nomination last week after consultations and that he would hence forth focus on campaigning for his younger brother NASA presidential candidate, Raila Odinga. “After consultations with my family and my own conscience, I have decided to drop my application for EALA seat,” said Oburu at a press briefing in Mombasa.
He said he had already informed the party of the decision and asked them to omit his name when the list of nominees is submitted to Parliament. “I want to concentrate on campaigns for my brother Raila Odinga and I will be co-ordinating the activities in my area and the western region, therefore I will not have time for other tasks,” said Oburu. The former Bondo MP said he will also be preparing to retire from active politics.
Contestants for the EALA membership include Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka’s son – Kennedy Musyoka who is eyeing to replace Peter Mathuku. Wiper, through Deputy party leader Farah Maalim, argued that the inclusion of Kenneth Kalonzo’s name on the EALA list was not proof of favoritism.
Maalim stated that he had personally advised Kalonzo’s son to field his name for the coveted position, adding that one should not be locked out of a job because one’s parent is in political leadership.“The notion that you can’t get a job because your father is a politician is unacceptable,” Mr. Maalim told the Citizen Digital.
Kenya has nine slots in the regional Assembly to be shared among Jubilee (five), ODM (two), Wiper Party (one) and others (one).
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