Defiant Jumwa refuses to apologise, tells off Raila

Malindi Member of Parliament Aisha Jumwa has refused to apologise as a precondition for the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) to reconsider its decision to expel her from the party.

This is after ODM leader Raila Odinga on Tuesday said the party would give Jumwa a second chance if she apologised “like Msambweni Member of Parliament Suleiman Dori.”

“Kila mtoto akiomba msahamaha anasamehewa. Juzi kwa chama yetu Dori alilia situlimsamehea. Ata Aisha tulisema akikuja tuketi chini naalie tutaangalia maneno yake. Sisi kama wanachungwa tuko pamoja,” said Mr. Odinga.

Loosely translated: “If a child asks to be pardoned you forgive them. Recently in our party, Suleiman Dori begged for forgiveness and we pardoned him… If Aisha Jumwa also pleads for forgiveness, we shall reconsider her fate.”

Mr. Odinga was speaking in Kibera area when he visited victims of the Toi market fire.

In a rejoinder, however, Jumwa dismissed Odinga’s move to hold out an olive branch to her, insisting that her expulsion from the Orange party was flawed.

Addressing the press at Parliament buildings, the Malindi MP remained adamant that she would not appear before the party to ask for forgiveness, asking Mr. Odinga to refer to the records on her stand.

“I have heard Raila Odinga saying that if I appear before the party they will forgive me… I want to tell him that what I told them before the National Executive Council that remains my position. Let them go back to the records,” said Jumwa.

She claims that while the ODM disciplinary committee is composed of five members, only one of them sat and decided to expel her and Dori before communicating the decision to the ODM National Executive Council (NEC), which she also claims was not properly constituted.

Jumwa says she was surprised by Odinga’s statement asking her to ask for forgiveness, yet he was present when the decision was read out to pardon Dori and expel her.

ODM’s disciplinary committee recommended the expulsion of Jumwa and Dori for openly supporting Deputy President William Ruto’s presidential ambitions.

The party’s National Governing Council (NGC), however, reconsidered the decision to kick out Dori after he apparently apologised to the party.

“Having received a letter of apology from Hon. Suleiman Dori, the members resolved to defer their decision,” said ODM Secretary General Edwin Sifuna on March 1.

Jumwa, however, remains defiant and has since moved to court to challenge her expulsion, which could see her lose her parliamentary seat.

If her appeal in court fails, Malindi voters will have to go back to the ballot as she was elected on an ODM ticket.

Meanwhile, a Nairobi court has extended orders barring Jumwa’s expulsion from ODM until May 7, 2019 when her case will be heard.