By Sandra Blessing
The battle for the Homa Bay gubernatorial seat went a notch higher after Deputy Governor Oyugi Magwanga told his boss, Governor Gladys Wanga, that she is a one-term governor and a failure.
The deputy governor said Wanga has failed to manage the county and that the county is in shambles, incapable of paying contractors and securing basic necessities for the daily running of offices.
Magwanga told Wanga that she is an ungrateful person to the people who helped her become governor in the 2022 general elections and that her time is up.
“Wanga is a one-term governor and her time is up. I sacrificed for you to be the governor, but you are a very ungrateful person. Now it is time for payback,” he said.
But when Wanga was contacted for an interview, she did not pick her calls or respond to our text messages.
The lobbying and President Uhuru factor in the 2022 elections
Magwanga claimed Wanga had to seek the intervention of Mama Ngina Kenyatta, then President Uhuru Kenyatta, Charity Ngilu, Martha Karua, Fred Matiang’i, and Francis Atwoli, among others, who arm-twisted Raila Odinga to endorse her candidacy.
He said Ngilu and Karua coined the gender issue that made Raila force gubernatorial aspirants to step down in her favour.
“It is unfortunate that when Raila died, at his burial she never recognised those who supported her to become the governor. She never mentioned them at the burial, and that spoke volumes,” he said.
Wanga’s memo to Magwanga
Wanga and Magwanga’s fallout began immediately after the elections, with the governor pushing her deputy to the periphery of management and refusing to honour the memorandum of understanding (MOU) they signed before Raila.
In 2023, Wanga went ahead to serve Magwanga with a memo to show cause why disciplinary action should not be taken against him over a donor project, for which the coordinator was responsible.
“The Governor knew very well about the chicken breeding project, sponsored by NAGRIP, and I told her that we inherited the project from the previous regime when it already had its own problems and procedures.
She needed to ask the coordinator, but instead, being malicious, she gave me a memo. That was very disrespectful. This was meant to demean my person, and she got the best reply,” he said.
Deputy Governor’s office remains closed
Magwanga’s office has remained closed since the fallout last year, after Wanga relieved him of his duties as CEC for Agriculture and Livestock Development.
“My office still remains closed, and my staff have no access to it. What kind of management is this? You cannot close a public office to deny the holder access. This is a violation of the Constitution. But it is just a matter of time before the people of Homa Bay lock you out through the ballot. Your time is up, and you are going home,” he said.
“This was a calculated political power play aimed directly at undermining my office and obstructing the functions of county governance. We must remember that no individual holds a public office as personal property. These offices are held temporarily on behalf of the people,” he added.
CEC changes
Magwanga said the decision by Wanga to sack CEC Dr Peter Ogalo, who was in charge of Lands, Physical Planning, Housing, and Urban Development, and to nominate Joseph Mitito as his replacement was an abuse of the MOU they signed and a direct assault on him.
Ogalo recently obtained a court order restraining the governor from filling the post until the matter is concluded.
Magwanga said by sacking Dr Peter Ogalo, Wanga had reneged on a pre-election pact they signed before the late Raila Odinga and that she was using the absence of the former Prime Minister to dishonour the agreement.
“It is me who brought Ogalo to the Cabinet. Sacking him without any consultation or reason is a direct affront to me. Let’s see how this will end,” he said.
On her X handle, Wanga wrote: “Official announcement: We’ve made changes to the membership of the County Executive Committee, effective immediately. This restructuring initiates a new phase of focused administration for our county.”
The explosion
The battle between Wanga and Magwanga exploded during the Kasipul by-election, where the former campaigned for ODM candidate Boyd Were, who defeated independent candidate Philip Aroko.
Last year, Wanga admitted there was a split in her government and promised to crack the whip on those who do not want to work but speak badly about her administration while serving in it.
Speaking at a funeral in Homa Bay, Wanga said she was adequately prepared to face her opponents for the gubernatorial seat in 2027, in what she termed a “battle royal.”
Wanga asked those who are not happy with her administration to pack and go so that she can bring in new people.
“To chieng’ ma owinjo ni sirkal rach ma ok onyal tiyo, to ogwe tawo oweyo mondo jakanyada machielo bedi. Mano e kaka gini timore. Koso jo Kanyada orumo ma nyalo tiyo.”
(If they are not happy with the government, let them resign and leave so that we can bring in new people from Kanyada who can work with me.)
