This archive report was first published on 17 September 2019.
On September 16, 2019, a closed-door meeting between ODM party leader Raila Odinga and nine Kibra aspirants resulted in a significant decision. The aspirants, who had paid a total of Ksh 2.25 million for the party primaries, were refunded their nomination fees.
The move comes after revelations of how some top party officials orchestrated the doctoring of the voters' roll, leading to avoidable mistakes during the party primaries. The nine aspirants, including Peter Orero, Ben Musungu, and John Otieno, had been forced to accept the win of Imran Okoth, the brother of the late Ken Okoth, despite the irregularities.
According to sources, the money was handed over to the aspirants on Monday, with each receiving Ksh 250,000. The decision was made after the party acknowledged that there were mistakes that occurred during the primaries.
ODM Kisumu Woman Representative Rosa Buyu confirmed the reports of the nomination fee refunds on a morning media talk show. She defended the ODM party primaries in Kibra and stated that the party has apologized to other aspirants and has accepted to refund the KSh250,000 that they had each paid as nomination fee.
Buyu also refuted claims that Raila Odinga was mad at what happened in Kibra and emphasized that the former premier was keen to encourage the aspirants to remain loyal to his party.
