Raila winds up tour of Vihiga, takes party solidarity message to Busia

ODM leader Raila Odinga wound up his two day tour of Vihiga County on Tuesday with several roadside addresses and two main rallies in Ekwanda and Luanda Town.

The ODM leader began his second day in the county with a meeting with ODM delegates before proceeding to address residents during stopovers at Khumusalaba, Esirulo, Emusire, Esibuye and Kima.

He then proceeded to open ODM offices at Ekwanda before walking for approximately two kilometres, accompanied by the party officials and enthusiasts, to the venue of a public rally, his first of the day.

He then held the second and last rally in Luanda Town, ending his two day tour of Vihiga.

Mr Odinga now heads to Busia, the home county of former ODM Secretary General Ababu Namwamba and former national chairman Paul Otuoma, on Wednesday.

Namwamba and Otuoma resigned from their position over apparent frustration by some individuals in the party who were allegedly resistant to reforms.

The two have hinted at forming their own party that would unite the Western region and provide a third option for the country.

ODM enjoys a huge following in Busia having won the Governor and Senate positions as well as the Women Representative seat and three of the seven parliamentary positions.

Of the three National Assembly seats, two are held by Namwamba (Budalang’i) and Otuoma (Funyula) and it remains to be seen if this will affect his popularity in the region.

URP has two MPs,  UDF one while Cyrus Jirongo’s FPK has one.

ODM also has 19 representatives in the County Assembly, while Ford Kenya has five, UDF four, LPK three, while Wiper, Ford People, FPK and URP have one MCA each.

In the presidential elections, Raila garnered 189,161 votes against Uhuru Kenyatta’s 8,186 votes.

Odinga will be in Busia for two days before completing his week-long Western tour with a visit to Kakamega County on Friday.