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Gem Member of Parliament Jakoyo Midiwo has announced that he has officially ditched the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM). Midiwo is a cousin to ODM leader Raila Odinga.
Jakoyo’s move come after the the party failed to quash the Gem constituency nominations results that he had contested.
Jakoyo had earlier claimed that he was the winner of the ODM ticket in Gem but his cousin and Raila’s elder brother Oburu Odinga worked with the party to rig him out.
But speaking to the Star, Midiwo who has been the deputy minority leader in the National Assembly revealed that he had abandoned the party and will be defending his seat in the August 8 elections as an independent candidate. "I have already been cleared by Registrar of Political Parties and I will be defending my seat in the August election as an independent candidate," Midiwo stated.
He said that he was forced to ditch the party as someone within the party hierarchy decided that he would not be given the certificate even if he wins the nomination. "Someone in the party is rigging me out, but I don't want to divulge on that because I have already made my decision to vie as an independent candidate," he emphasized.
Jakoyo joins a host of other leaders who were dissatisfied with the ODM nominations results and have since ditched the party to contest as independent candidates.