Peter Khasamule Odima the man behind the Paul Otuoma petition against Busia Governor Sospeter Ojaamong’s win of that seat in the August 8th, 2017 general elections is one who can manipulate and corrupt any election or even compromise any voter or any candidate.
Just about anybody or anything with the price varying as per Odima’s personal assessment of you, crowned by the highest bidder takes it all.
This time round this expensive litigation has now landed him with a crippling Kshs. 12 million bill in costs with each of the respondents mentioned in the suit to be paid Kshs. 4 million, but Odima has declared to appeal against the verdict by the Busia High Court.
Odima was born in Musoma village and went to primary school at Mabunge R.C. Primary school to start his academic journey. After which he went to Butula High School and New Kisumu Boys High School for his ‘O’ & ‘A’ levels respectively before proceeding to Egerton University where he graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in education that saw him into the classroom.
[wp_ad_camp_2] Odima’s entry into Busia county’s politics became publicly evident at the height of the multi-party politics in 1992. Then a high school teacher, he was hired by a new entrant in Nambale constituency politics Chris Okemo to be his campaign manager to try and oust the then Kanu minister for Labour Phillip Masinde. Okemo was contesting on a Ford Asili ticket.
Though Okemo lost it out to Masinde at that first try in elective politics of Busia county, what clearly came out during those campaigns by Okemo and his manager is the belief and over use of cash money to lure voters to Okemo’s side. As a matter of fact this was the very first time over-use of cash money to influence voters in Nambale constituency was being experienced.
This continued at the general elections campaigns of 1997 when Okemo changed from the Ford Asili tune to sing the Kanu tune and was able to oust Masinde from parliament. That was just the beginning of a highly tumultuous era for Nambale constituency’s politics – especially since Okemo was immediately appointed to the cabinet and automatically appointed Odima as a Personal Assistant – a monetary handouts syndrome had just begun.
A trend that completely transformed a constituency that was once full of proud, independent, resourceful people to a totally completely dependent people. Enslaved by the handouts dependency syndrome to the extent that whenever Okemo visited the constituency and word went out that he would pass through this or that route or market – local residents went to park on the roads to line up for cash handouts which was either Kshs. 50 or 100 at most.
That was Odima’s politics that degenerated to the extent that Nambale constituents wishing to see Okemo to discuss their pressing issues had to content with Odima first before seeing Okemo, but even after seeing him Odima’s word to Okemo was finale and there was nothing you could do about it.
That was the height of Odima’s political power in Nambale constituency when Okemo served in the ministries of finance, energy twice – before being forced to the backbench when he made it for the third term but still stuck with Odima as his P.A. after the 2002 general elections.
Perhaps it was after this that things started wrong between the two once inseparable bosom friends. By this time massive complaints against Odima’s alleged wrong doings had become a widespread dirge not only in the constituency but also all the way to Nairobi.
By the 2007 general elections wide cracks were beginning to appear in the relationship between Okemo and Odima as pressure mounted against Okemo to get rid of him as a personal Assistant. Of course other faces like Albert Mukhangali, Oscar Namulanda and eventually others like Shabaan Wandera had crowded the scene.
By that time Odima appears to have been effectively shuttled to the Kenya power and Lighting Company job whose then Chief Executive James Gichuru was very close to Okemo instead of being under the Parliamentary Service Commission.
That was the beginning of the apparent political fallout between Odima and Okemo when the latter discovered that his PA was running to jobs at Kenya Power and at the PSC and demanded that he must surrender one.
That seems to have triggered off Okemo’s political differences with Odima and his extradition to New Jersey woes to face corruption charges that are believed to have been engineered or leaked dossier by Odima to fix his former boss in an apparent lashback.
By the 2013 general elections the rift between the two personalities had degenerated into a horrendously un-bridgeable chasm threatening to erupt into an abyss. That is when Odima sold out to campaign for the Busia County senator Amos Wako who was running on an ODM ticket against Okemo who was vying for the same seat on a Ford Kenya ticket of yet another party he had jumped to.
It has emerged that the arrangement between Wako and Odima was strictly quid pro quo – that is pay for the work delivered during that period. That was also among other allowances including a campaign four wheel drive car but the heavy hard cash expenditure involved in luring voters to Wako’s side, Odima’s signature was clearly evident throughout. [wp_ad_camp_2]
However, Odima appeared to have been abandoned in political limbo after this elections. That is as people all over the county scrambled to grab various seats that had become available at the county level. The situation became so bad before he was salvaged by Ojaamon’g with the Director Resource Mobilization job at the county.
That was not the end of his woes as he was relived off his job but continued getting double pay even as he changed tack to jump into former Funyula legislator Paul Otuoma’s political bandwagon to oust Ojaamong with whom they had been together during the 2013 general elections with Wako.
Even with the flamboyant former Funyula legislator gunning for governorship of Busia County against Ojaamon’g during the 2017 general elections, what came out clearly was Odima’s signature tune of outrageous public bribery to lure voters to vote for Paul Otuoma his preferred candidate.
Ironically he had completely failed to do the same to lure voters to his side during the political parties’ primaries when he sought to vie for the Nambale constituency seat on an ODM ticket. Odima and others lost to Godfrey Mulanya before he decamped to Otuoma’s camp who fought it out as an independent candidate to try and un-seat Ojaamon’g.
True the political road can be very long and winding, this time round after seeing Odima through so many political parties of convenience has landed him into the ruling Jubilee party from ODM.
