By Anderson Ojwang
Last Saturday in Kisumu, it was a double historic moment—both economic and political. President William Ruto and his Ugandan counterpart converged in Kisumu to launch the Naivasha-Kisumu-Malaba Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) project.
The multi-billion project is expected to “catalyze the economy of East and Central Africa” and unlock Western Kenya’s economic potential.
This marked “a new chapter in the history of Nyanza,” a region that has been marginalized for decades by successive regimes in terms of development.
Ironically, as President Ruto was delivering on development, politically, another history was in the offing. James Orengo parted ways and embarked on “a new political path.”
For President Ruto, Nyanza has become “a key political destination” as he prepares to defend his seat in the 2027 general election, hence his move toward a pre-election coalition pact with the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM).
On Tuesday, President Ruto is expected to be in Usenge to launch the pier and has directed the Kenya Ports Authority to construct the Sh500 million facility.
“I thank you people of Siaya for giving me hardworking Opiyo Wandayi. You have also given me the Assembly Budget Committee Chairman Sam Atandi. We have budgeted Sh4.5 billion for roads in Siaya. We are working to transform Siaya and other parts of the country,” he said in Gem, Siaya County.
ODM will hold its Special National Delegates Conference this Friday, March 27, 2026, with one of the agenda items being to mandate party leader Oburu Oginga to embark on coalition talks with President Ruto.
On Friday, at a function at Kisumu State Lodge, Oburu said he was associating with President Ruto because “that is where power resides.”
“We want power. The power is here. I cannot go to a group of shareholders while the power is right here. We are passing through Singapore to arrive at our Canaan destination,” he said.
In Kisumu and Gem in Siaya County, while President Ruto presided over development functions, Orengo gave them “a wide berth” and remained in his backyard rallying residents to support his political agenda.
Speaking in Siaya, Orengo invited his political opponents to a “battle royale,” saying they were bound to lose.
“Wadwa yuare gi jogi ka bim gi guok… I am not scared. Luos must be proud. You don’t walk into a place like a beggar but as someone who has their home,” he said.
Orengo said they will stand for the truth and will not go begging for support, questioning the direction President Ruto is taking.
“Ruto is taking us to a sinking ship. I am urging everybody that joining Ruto is a disaster and an abomination. It cannot work,” he said.
He questioned why ODM leadership were in a hurry to form a coalition without structures, terming it “suicidal.”
“We will stand for the truth to the end. If one comes to seek the hand of your daughter, he must declare what he has brought. How will he listen to you if he is already cohabiting with your daughter?” he posed.
“We want a well-negotiated arrangement so that ODM remains a proper party with a national structure. We want ODM to be a democratic party where leaders are elected and not handed positions,” he said.
But speaking in Gem, Alego MP Sam Atandi said in 2027, Siaya will have “a new governor,” and that Orengo will be thrown into the political dustbin.
“We are not fearing anybody. We want to announce here today that we are going to elect a new governor for Siaya,” he said.
Atandi said Orengo has failed to deliver on his mandate and has “no development record” to show residents.
Leaders present apologized to the President for Orengo’s absence and promised to unseat him in the next general election.
“Mr. President, we want to apologize. It is sad that the Governor seeks development from you, you honor the request, but he turns around to criticize you. We implore you to ignore him,” said Ugenya MP David Ochieng.
Ochieng said Siaya made a mistake by electing Orengo, accusing him of “perfecting the art of politics but failing in development.”
“I, David Ochieng, will be the Siaya Governor in 2027. I will be ready and eager to work with you. We as Luos are supporting your re-election,” he said.
Gem MP Elisha Odhiambo said Orengo is a “one-term governor” and should be rejected in 2027.
ODM National Chairperson Gladys Wanga said Ruto has delivered and visited Nyanza more than previous presidents and therefore deserves support.
“We as a party have resolved to remain in the broad-based government and have mandated our party leader Dr Oburu to negotiate with President Ruto,” she said.
