By Habil Onyango
For a long time, there have been wrangles over the Luo Council of Elders’ leadership between the late Ker (Chairman) Willis Opiyo Otondi and Ker Nyandiko Ongadi.
However, after the demise of Otondi on August 12, 2025, Ker Odungi Randa was first picked and unveiled at an event which was held at Homa Bay High School on July 1, 2023, in an event which was graced by the late former ODM party leader Raila Odinga, among other dignitaries.
However, the coronation ceremony, which is a cultural event, took place on December 22, 2023, at the historic Ofafa Memorial Hall in Kisumu.
Randa, who is currently 84 years old, was a former long-serving aide to the late nationalist Jaramogi Oginga Odinga and was recently rewarded with a Prado TX by President William Ruto.
However, despite the endorsement and coronation, Nyandiko’s-led team still maintains that they hold the official registration documents and is the legally recognised chairman under the Registrar of Societies.
But Randa’s team leads the widely recognised mainstream branch of the council based in Kisumu, which frequently meets at Ofafa Memorial Hall.
In their recent consultative meeting held in Migori County, the Nyandiko-led team recommended several measures, including sending delegations to Hon. Dr Oburu Oginga, who is the current ODM chairman, to hold a joint meeting of leaders of the various factions.
According to Joseph Ogada Gor, a member of the Luo Council of Elders Forum, they proposed that the duly registered Chairman of the Luo Council of Elders embarks on a recruitment exercise to register bona fide members who meet the threshold for membership.
Further, they proposed that Ongadi then convenes a general meeting of registered members and conducts a general election to elect the Chairman and other office bearers.
The Luo Council of Elders is the grassroots assembly and Senate of the Luo community.
“It is the base, pillar, pivot and apex for guidance on matters of governance, culture, social order, economics, education, religion, constitutionalism, unity, respect and industry,” he said.
“After a new office is in place, a memorandum be submitted to the four Luo Nyanza County Assemblies to seek official funding for Council activities,” he said.
“The memorandum should include a proposal for resting and recreation homes/facilities for elders, especially those faced with loneliness after the death of close family members,” he said.
“The need for unity in the Luo community cannot be gainsaid. This subject has been extensively discussed in several fora by the United Luo Elders Forum and other Luo elders’ consultative groups,” he said.
Gor revealed that visible signs that the Luo Nation is divided today are that two individuals claim leadership of the community as Chairman of Ker, saying that one was elected into office by delegates of Luo elders, which has recognition of the Registrar of Societies and has complied with the provisions of the Societies Act.
He added that the other, which is led by Randa, ascended into office through the tacit backing of the late Hon. Raila Amolo Odinga, who was the Patron of the Council — a position not provided for in the Constitution of the Luo Council of Elders.
“As a result, one Chairman is deliberately suppressed by the political environment and cannot convene public meetings, while the other has converted the Council into an appendage of the ODM Party, attending only meetings organised by the Party,” he said.
He further revealed that there is yet a third formation, the United Luo Elders Forum, whose specific objective has been to create peace and unity by bringing the two Chairmen to the negotiating table.
The Role of the Luo Council of Elders
According to Ongadi, the Council of Elders acts as the voice of the Luo Nation. The Council must speak out when children are not going to school, when young girls drop out of school due to early pregnancy or early marriage.
Further, they chip in when the community’s fishermen do not get full benefits from the rivers and Lake Victoria, and when their women are denied the right to inherit property of their deceased husbands.
Although the Council of Elders is non-partisan, it is not apolitical to the extent that it can support a candidate for a national position such as the Presidency.
Individual members remain free to belong to any political party and to vote for candidates of their choice.
The Need for Unity of the Luo Nation
Causes of disunity
According to the chairman, there has been no clear modality for admitting members to the Council. There are elderly men and women within it who are outright sycophants who follow politicians for handouts.
He said that some jostle to be seen close to prominent or powerful politicians — a trend that was more pronounced during the lifetime of the late Raila Odinga.
Others have little regard for respect due to old age by easily resorting to backbiting their peers to gain favours, and are themselves actively involved in party politics in their local areas.
The elders, however, decried the lack of financial independence since the Council has no kitty to fund its activities and is forced to rely on personal donations from politicians. This makes it vulnerable to manipulation.
“Political emasculation and manipulation by some senior Luo politicians who use the company of elders to demonstrate community support, then pay those elders for acting as flower girls during public events.”
How to end disunity
The elders proposed that the Luo community must have one leader who is accepted and respected, not by a Party leader or the Government, but by the community across the four counties.
Further, they said that there must be a clear system for vetting elders before admission as members of the Council.
“Members of the Council must not participate in political party activities at any level and the Council must have financial independence to avoid begging for funds to run its activities.”
