By Team
The Raila Odinga forced political marriage in Homa Bay County government leadership is on the brink of collapse unless a miracle happens.
Similarly, Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga scored a first victory over her deputy and now-turned rival Oyugi Magwanga in a shambolic and bungled ODM nomination in Kasipul Constituency.
Ahead of the 2022 general election, Raila prevailed on all the gubernatorial aspirants — Magwanga, John Mbadi, Isaiah Ogwe, Akello Misori, Nicholas Koriko — save for Dr Evans Kidero, who defied him.
Magwanga was forced to deputise Wanga, while other aspirants were promised employment in the government Raila was expected to form after the elections. They are still waiting to date, except for Mbadi, who was promised Treasury and finally assumed it through the broad-based arrangement.
The Kasipul ODM nomination turned out to be the battleground and parting point for Wanga and Magwanga, ending the cold war and the forced marriage ahead of the 2027 elections.
Wanga and Magwanga will finally face off at the ballot, and at the ODM primary in Kasipul, Wanga had the first laugh at her deputy.
In a shambolic ODM primary, Wanga’s Boyd Were won the election by a big margin of 18,200 against Magwanga’s Newton Ogada, who polled 3,037 votes. Dan Okindo got 621, Dr Adel Ottoman received 465, and George Otieno 396.
Interestingly, in some of the polling stations, students were captured voting, while in other areas vote-marking was rampant — raising issues of integrity, fairness, and credibility of the exercise.
Intriguingly, the ODM Election Board was forced to make last-minute changes to the list of officials who presided over the elections. The Board had to change the returning officer four times.
Wanga wrote on her Facebook page: “I wish to congratulate Boyd Were wholeheartedly for his victory in the ODM party primaries. The people of Kasipul have spoken, and they have chosen a candidate they believe will champion their interests. I thank the National Elections Coordinating Committee for carrying out a credible process.
This is now time for unity. I urge all leaders and supporters to back Boyd fully as we now focus on the greater task of winning the by-election and bringing transformative development to Kasipul. Forward Together.”
Wanga has mastered the palace battles, rising from Women Representative to Governor and ODM National Chairperson, and has succeeded in outwitting everyone in the battle — including Raila’s kin.
In the 2022 election in Kasipul, political commentator Odoyo Owidi tried to secure the ticket through Mama Ida Odinga, where he was fondly referred to as “my son” and was ever present at nearly all Mama Ida’s functions.
Wanga’s candidate was the late Ongondo Were, and she managed to secure him a direct ticket while Odoyo was left to lick his wounds and finally bolted out to become one of the harshest critics.
In the Kasipul ODM primary, Wanga once again supported Boyd, while Siaya Senator Dr Oburu Oginga and his sister Dr Wenwa Akinyi supported the deflated Ogada — and lost.
Ogada incurred additional losses after ODM goons destroyed his hospitals, vehicles, and other properties valued at millions of shillings.
In one of the bizarre incidents in Kasipul, ODM goons descended on and destroyed a hospital belonging to aspirant Kepha Ogada. The goons, said to be allied to one of the aspirants, caused panic at the health facility, forcing patients and medics to flee to safety. The attack paralysed medical services at the facility and left property worth hundreds of thousands destroyed. The Kasipul ODM primaries lived up to expectations as they were rocked by violence, wanton destruction of property, and left several people injured.
In a move to checkmate Magwanga, Wanga has invited a section of Karachuonyo professionals residing in Nairobi for a meeting.
The meeting is aimed at developing strategies to calm rebelling Karachuonyo and win them back to the fold.
Equally, professionals from Greater Rachuonyo — mainly Karachuonyo, Kasipul, and Kabondo Kasipul — have also planned a series of meetings to re-orient ahead of the 2027 elections.
“We control 48 percent of Homa Bay votes. We can no longer play second fiddle in the county. We must reclaim our stake. Our concern is placing Rachuonyo at its rightful place. We are not interested in the ODM party politics,” said members who did not want to be named.
The battle between Wanga and Magwanga is expected to shift back to the county and the assembly, with a possible attempt to impeach Magwanga.
For a long time, some of Wanga’s allies have been toying with the plot to impeach Magwanga, and the Kasipul fall-out provides the opportunity.
Magwanga declined Wanga’s earlier overtures to support Boyd in order to become Homa Bay County ODM Chairman.
ODM is reputed for nomination anomalies, with the party leadership known for interfering with the exercise or on occasion awarding direct tickets to their preferred candidates.
The by-election is crucial and strategic for both Wanga and Magwanga ahead of the 2027 general elections, where they may face each other at the ballot box for the county seat.
For Wanga, Ongondo’s demise left a vacuum and void that she must fill with her preferred candidate to checkmate Magwanga. Ongondo was the checkmate to Magwanga, and the two were bitter rivals who rarely shared a podium. Ongondo was used by Wanga to checkmate and tame her deputy, controlling his political influence in the constituency.
For Magwanga, he wants to have a say in the constituency he once represented for two terms before he decided to have a stab at the gubernatorial seat in the 2017 and 2022 elections. Kasipul remains his fulcrum if he intends to pursue his ambition, and he wants a new MP allied to him to take over from Ongondo.
