"Odilo's 'Kumi Kumi' Claim Sparks Debate at MCA Wamalwa's Father's Burial"

 

Last week's claim by Busia County Assembly Speaker Fredrick Odilo on the undocumented memorandum of understanding between the Iteso and luhya communities dominated the burial of Angurai North MCA Isaac Wamalwa's father, Mzee Richard Maruti, 88, at Katotoi village on Monday.

Hundreds of mourners, including Democratic Alliance Party of Kenya ( DAPK) party leader Eugene Wamalwa, Busia Deputy Governor H.E Arthur Odera, PAS Arthur Osia and former Governor Sospeter Ojaamong.

Addressing mourners during the burial of Patrick Okola at Muyafwa Village in Matayos Constituency on February 1, Odilo told the Iteso community to respect the undocumented MoU, noting that the "agreement" has to be respected.

"Yours was 10 years, and ours is 10. Tesos should not have greed for power because we gave them 10 years to lead.The remaining five years Otuoma is here," he was quoted as saying.

Ojaamong, who opened the Pandora box of criticism, said he never saw the MoU of Teso 10 and Luhya 10, adding that embracing peace among Busia county communities is critical than focusing attention on non issues.

" The only thing I remember is that during the Bomas talks, which the Iteso community was represented by Ashepete (Roseline), Emukule (Mathew), and myself, the only emerging issue was that the Iteso community was going to get a county to be curved off Busia county," the first governor said.

However, Ojaamong remembers with nostalgia the intervention of ODM party leader Raila Odinga, urging us to suspend our demands for a county, which was "enshrined in the constitution", as long as there is equitable distribution of resources.

" Busia is a cosmopolitan county. There is no problem if those in leadership will provide services without discrimination. Issues of Teso and Luhya are just meant to hoodwink county residents instead of delivering services to them," PAS Osiya said.

Nairobi County majority leader Peter Imwatok, aka Jateso, said that during the Bomas 2011, there was no MoU associated with the creation of Busia County.

" The only MoU I remember is service delivery to the people of Busia, and any other thing is a nullity," Imwatok said.

Imwatok also claimed that Busia MCAs are the most suffering lot in the country, with 95% of them putting their phones on flight modes " because of inabilities to make ends meet."

The 2022 woman rep aspirant Evelyn Ikwii Omasaja said if it's true the MoU ever existed, then it was never implemented on the women front.

" In 2013, a candidate married in the luhya community was elected the first woman rep. She was reelected in 2017. A luhya is again the woman rep to imply there was no MoU," she noted, adding that the only MoU contract is performance.

February 11, 2025