By Anderson Ojwang
President William Ruto faces the first and crucial test after the demise of his broad-based government partner Raila Odinga in this month’s Kasipul by-election.
For Ruto, the mission to inherit Raila’s vote bloc of Nyanza begins with the Kasipul by-election, where the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) national chairperson Gladys Wanga comes from.
Wanga is one of the key allies and pillars of Ruto in ODM and Nyanza. Homa Bay County was Raila’s bedroom, and Ruto also turned Homa Bay into his other home.
Wanga is the Homa Bay Governor, and for her, winning the seat would be a sweet victory over her deputy, Oyugi Magwanga, who is not supporting the ODM candidate Boyd Were, the son of his bitter political rival, the late Charles Ongondo Were.
In his characteristic style, Ruto on Friday sent a high-voltage team led by Deputy President Prof. Kithure Kindiki, Principal Secretary for Internal Security and National Administration Dr Raymond Omollo, and several MPs to Kasipul to preside over an empowerment activity in the area and also campaign for the candidate.
Kindiki said the broad-based government was working to ensure victory for the candidates sponsored by the alliance in the elections.
“In areas where we have candidates who belong to the parties in the broad-based alliance, all of us will converge to support the candidate. That is the broad-based candidate.
In respect to the memorandum of understanding signed by President Ruto and the late Raila Odinga to bring UDA and ODM into the broad-based government, we are now one team,” he said.
Omollo also rooted for Boyd for the seat and wrote on his X handle:
“Together with Deputy President Prof. Kindiki Kithure, we joined the people and regional leadership of Homa Bay, led by Governor Gladys Wanga, for a resource mobilisation and women empowerment drive in Kasipul Constituency.
The meeting also underscored the spirit of the broad-based government, as leaders expressed unity of purpose while rallying behind the ODM candidate Boyd Were within a framework of inclusivity and national cohesion.”
Similarly, UDA members who have been critical of Governor Wanga and Boyd’s candidature must either toe the line or keep silent until after the elections.
But while the broad-based government pitched tent in Kasipul, Philip Aroko, an independent candidate, also maintained an offensive, combing the area and creating a political storm.
Aroko and other candidates — Robert Riaga, Sam Rateng Kotiende of UPA, and Collins Okeyo of MDG — have camped in the area and are leaving nothing to chance.
Ahead of the controversial ODM nomination, a professional caucus from the area had rejected what they termed the forced candidature of Were.
The professionals from Kasipul, led by Eng. Tom Awino Okoko, convened a meeting for 1,500 members at Agoro Sare over what they termed as overbearing attempts by the governor to impose her candidate.
For the nomination, Wanga supported Boyd, while the current ODM Party Leader Dr Oburu Odinga and his sister supported businessman Kepha Ogada.
The Kasipul seat is so important to Ruto after he committed to ensuring Raila’s party, ODM, remained intact, according to his pledge during the burial.
So, when President Ruto spoke at Kango Ka Jaramogi during the burial of former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, where he said ODM would either form the government or be in a coalition that would form the government, the hurdle and test began with the Kasipul by-election.
“I know I am the leader of the UDA party in the Kenya Kwanza Coalition. I want to assure you, ODM, that in Raila’s desire, he built the largest political party—ODM. I want to promise that we will respect ODM and support ODM to hold together.
ODM must be strong as we go to 2027 because that is how we will have a strong government. Political parties are the foundations of any meaningful democracy. Therefore, the future of ODM, the strength of ODM, and the welfare of ODM matter a great deal to me.
That is how we are going to have a strong nation—by having strong and vibrant political parties.
I want to assure you that ODM will form the government or form part of the next government. What I cannot allow, in honour of Raila, is for those who want to remove ODM and use it for their own selfish gains,” he said.
Acting ODM Party Leader Oburu Oginga echoed President Ruto’s sentiments on ODM producing a president or forming a coalition government.
“If President Ruto sees our party as the most active, you may see him rejoin us and even seek to be our presidential candidate. Ruto is free to rejoin ODM. Ruto was a founding member of ODM, and he is expected to attend the party’s 20th anniversary. He will be subjected to competition if he rejoins us.
We, as ODM, will decide to either have a presidential candidate or form a coalition. We must be in the government—on our own or through a coalition,”he said.
The recent political activities by the ODM leadership and MPs point not only to a probable coalition but also to the likelihood that President Ruto could be a potential presidential candidate for the party.
ODM Deputy Party Leader Simba Arati, during a recent meeting with ODM officials from Nairobi, said that President Ruto was welcome back to the party. So, ODM offers Ruto the vehicle or coalition partner he requires for the 2027 presidential contest.
