Details have emerged on how Rarieda MP Otiende Amollo blackmailed ODM leader Raila Odinga, threatening him with resigning as Vice-Chairperson for the Justice and Legal Affairs Commission (JLAC) if his demand of amending the BBI document were not met.
This in turn prompted his kicking out, from the seat by the ODM Party on Tuesday, for going against the party’s position on BBI.
According to details from ODM Chairperson John Mbadi, after their speech in Nyatike over the weekend, Raila summoned the Rarieda MP and his JLAC counterpart James Orengo, to have a housekeeping meeting on Monday and resolve any concerns they have on BBI.
However, Mbadi says the Rarieda MP instead sent Raila Odinga a threatening message, telling the ODM leader he was ready to resign from his position in the JLAC as well as Rarieda MP.
”Otiende is a very sharp lawyer who is very important to us. Jakom heard an audio of what Otiende and Orengo said in Nyatike on Saturday and summoned them for a meeting, to resolve the dispute on Monday. The next thing Otiende did was sending Raila a message, how he was ready to resign from his JLAC position and as an MP from Rarieda,” MP Mbadi told a vernacular station on Tuesday.
Adding, ” When Raila woke up on Sunday morning he was shocked to find the message from Otiende. There are things hidden from the public that they do not know. Who is he blackmailing? We are not mad.”
On Tuesday afternoon, National Assembly Majority Leader Amos Kimunya confirmed the ODM Party had removed the legislator from JLAC, in a raft of changes that also affected other MPs in the party. Otiende Amollo is replaced by Ruaraka MP TJ Kajwang.
A first-time legislator and a renowned constitutional lawyer, MP Otiende together with Siaya Senator James Orengo have been critical of the BBI Bill over the proposed additional 70 constituencies, saying they are illegal.
