By Anderson Ojwang
Migori County for decades was known as the mother and father of political violence and thuggery. The language best and most spoken in the county was violence.
Bloodbath and political deaths were the order of the day and never became news. It was normalised.
Political events were punctuated by violence and thuggery. Goons ran havoc, and nearly all political gatherings were disrupted.
Even the Orange Democratic Movement party leader, the late Raila Amolo Odinga, was not spared. Respect was thrown out through the window.
Victims
In 2017, ODM luminaries, then Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho, his Kisumu counterpart Prof Anyang’ Nyong’o, among others, tasted the wrath of Migori.
Some had to hide under the table to survive as violence erupted at the party’s function at Migori Stadium, and that marked the last time several ODM luminaries attended a political function in the county.
Governor Ochilo Ayacko and former Cabinet Minister the late Dalmas Otieno Anyango, during the battle for Rongo Constituency, turned the area into Darfur – a war zone.
Ayacko and the immediate former Governor Okoth Obado were often embroiled in running battles.
But with the exit of Obado, the political violence and thuggery transferred to between Ayacko and Suna West MP Peter Masara, who is also eyeing the gubernatorial seat.
Ayacko-Masara battle
Earlier in the year, after three years of calm, two days of political violence rocked Migori town following Ayacko and Masara’s engagement in a superiority battle.
At a funeral in the area, Ayacko got a dose of his own medicine and was forced to seek protection from the police station after chaos descended at the funeral they both attended.
At the funeral, Ochilo and Masara fought over protocol, with the latter demanding that he speak first before inviting the governor to speak.
Commotion broke out over the tussle on who should speak first, and the tussle over the microphone forced the mourners to flee and police to intervene.
Ochilo later went to report the incident at a local police station and accused Masara of allegedly orchestrating violence against him at the funeral.
Both Ochilo and Masara recorded statements with the police over the violence, with County Police Boss Samwel Boit saying the fracas began over a confrontation on who should speak first.
“The chaos broke out over who should speak first at the funeral, and when Masara attempted to take the microphone from Ochilo, violence broke out,” he said.
Ochilo blamed Masara for the chaos and asked him to campaign in peace instead of engaging in violence.
“I got the opportunity to condole with the family, but the area MP came and created chaos. He allegedly brought 500 youths armed with crude weapons. But as a governor who is peace-loving, I opted not to engage in political violence.”
But Masara denied this, instead accusing Ochilo of getting police protection to intimidate his opponents.
“When the governor arrived, and before he could even stay for 20 minutes, he took over the microphone, saying he wants to invite me to speak in my constituency. That is not protocol. The protocol requires that I am the one to invite him and not vice versa. I am the one to invite him in my constituency. He went for police reinforcement from Migori Central Police Station, and four land cruisers carrying officers were brought to the funeral, but they only protected Ochilo.”
Comedy
Uriri MP Mark Nyamita changed the chapter of Migori politics when he ventured into comedy-laced politics, christening Governor Ayacko with names such as “Oyundi” – a small lazy bird that only appears at mealtime and doesn’t want to eat.
Ayacko, in turn, named Nyamita as “Chiwawa” – a small pet dog known for noise but cannot bite – and “Othuogo” (shortness) because of his height.
The use of symbolism in their speeches and figures of speech became the political engagement, and violence took a back seat.
Nyamita said: “Ayacko recently called me Chiwawa. Chiwawa is an alert dog. And that is why I am alerting you of corruption cases. Ayacko is a German shepherd because he is used to pangas and violence.”
The bye moment
Nyamita has developed a political phrase and salutation that is gaining popularity with the electorate and audiences.
In his new phrase, Nyamita engages the audience to wave “bye” to Ayacko in 2027.
In the phrase, Nyamita says “Ochilo Ayacko bye” and the audience responds with a wave, saying “bye,” and the salutation is concluded with a catchy statement: “Dhi dala koso odhi? (Going home or not going home?)” and the crowd breaks out in laughter with a response: “Dhi dala (Going home).”
Nyamita may have coined the phrase and the salute in his political quest to become the third governor of Migori.
That is why when Nyamita usually rises to speak, he says that.
But Ayacko is not taking the jibe lying down and has repackaged himself as the grandson of Sinakuru Kukulubaga ma Dogma in a fierce battle with Nyamita and his opponents.
The banter
The Nyamita and Ayacko banter has been on development, with each questioning the other’s performance.
And now, with the elections 14 months away, Migori will be the centre of theatre and laughter.
