Supremacy wars in the Raila Odinga led ODM party among other procedural issues plagued the appointment of Gwassi Constituency lawmaker to the third most powerful position in the National Assembly.
The decision by Raila’s team to revoke the appointment of Mr John Mbadi as the Minority leader, a position earlier held by Francis Nyenze in the eleventh parliament, was not a shock to his fellow Nasa MPs, after all.
The move has now thrown the Nasa strategists into action to cushion what could precipitate into a fall out, even as the coalition exhibit massive exodus of key figures to the Uhuru Kenyatta led Jubilee party, a few days to the repeat polls.
Mr Mbadi, it is rumored, has never had a good rapport with his Nasa colleagues, a situation that was recently visible in the press conference which demanded that Nasa MPs should boycott the parliamentary sessions. Some lawmakers, however, trumped the decision and made appearances in parliament.
It is also understood that Mr Mbadi, who was “handed the nomination certificate after the shambolic ODM nominations in his backyard”, a move that created a cold blood between Mr Odinga and some MPs from his backyard.
Mr Odinga is said to have imposed Mr Mbadi, his former aide in the office of the Prime Minister, to his electorates in Gwassi.
Some opposition legislators have expressed satisfaction in the decision as it opens yet another round of lobbying for the third most powerful position in the Lower House.
The Leader of Minority position post is third after that of the Speaker and Majority Leader and attracts perks and other benefits, including official cars.
Technically, Mr Mbadi’s win will force some Nyanza MPs to forfeit their bids for other seats for the sake of regional balance.