Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party leader Raila Odinga is expected to hold a high level Coast ODM delegates meeting in Mombasa tomorrow Saturday at wild waters park in Nyali.Led by Mvita MP Abdulswamad Nassir, who is seeking the party ticket to succeed deputy party leader Joho as Mombasa Governor, the MPs said the aim of the delegates meeting with ODM Chair Hon Raila Odinga,members of the National Executive Committee (NEC) and the Parliamentary Group (PG) will discuss on how to strengthen the party in the coast region through the recruitment of new members joining ODM among other issues.
Nassir said the vision of the ODM party is to ensure that the ideals of the people of Kenya are met through ODM party agendas.The vocal Mvita MP said the meeting’s aim is to strategize on how ODM will recapture what was ODM’s.
“We are now simply saying we want to realise the dreams of Kenyans,” said Nassir.He said if ODM was in power, the fuel prices would have never hit a record high. “If ODM was in government, fuel prices would not have been increasing daily. We believe in a democracy brought from the people at the grassroots,” said Nassir.“These are matters that will be discussed even in the Coast delegates’ conference,” said the MP. He noted that ODM’s role is to continuously caution where the government is going wrong.On his party Likoni Member of Parliament Hon Mishi Mboko said the delegates meeting will enable strengthening the party in the coastal region.
“The region has its owners who are ODM. We are ready for a political, economic and social fight to have the Coast region unite under ODM and we have stood firm and we cannot be deterred by TangaTanga narratives,” she said.Jomvu MP Badi Twalib said ODM is intact and will strengthen its traditional bases with renewed vigour.“We are going to strengthen the party at the grassroots. We want to paint the region orange. “Baba said the breaking of the cooking spoon is not the end of cooking. We will still cook and eat the food,” said Twalib.Mombasa woman representative Asha Hussein said Mombasa will take the lead in revamping the party and they are welcoming new members who want to join ODM in the coastal region.The Mombasa County ODM leaders were addressing media at ODM offices in Mvita Constituency after endorsing Governor Joho’s Stepbrother Mohamed Hamisi Dee as the ODM Mombasa branch Chairman.Dhee replaces former nominated MCA and powerful finance committee Chair, the late Mohammed Hatimy.Hatimy,who was a close confidante of Governor Ali Joho died of Covid-19 complications on November 14,2020.His death dealt a major blow to the party operations in Mombasa and has been struggling to maintain the level of influence as was during the late Hatimay’s reign.
The installation of Dhee before the ODM delegates meeting tomorrow is seen as a welcome move by ODM to try and kick-start a major campaign to revitalize the party at the Coast.Dhee’s first assignment is to organize a Coast delegates meeting on Saturday at Wild Waters Complex, that will bring together 600 party delegates, 100 from each of the six Coastal counties.
“Going forward, we have a big task of taking the party back to its glory days when it used to be a powerhouse,” said Dhee.The new Mombasa county chairman met all officials of the party from all the six sub-counties to plan for the Wild Waters conference on Saturday and to lay strategies that will rekindle the ODM flame.