Wanga faces big task to gain clout in ODM as deputy breaks ranks

Departed veteran politician Raila Odinga’s ODM party is facing a herculean task to avoid a potential embarrassment and clinch the hotly contested Kasipul parliamentary seat.

It is a race that has split senior ODM and UDA officials who have been working together in President William Ruto’s administration but are now pulling in opposite directions.

The ODM party has deployed its heaviest campaign machinery in the constituency and has lined up a powerful force of political titans led by party leader Oburu Oginga to campaign for their candidate, Boyd Were.

However, not all ODM leaders are reading from the same script as the race blows out in the open cracks within the party that is struggling to avoid embarrassment from other candidates.

So fierce is the race and the divisions that ODM chairperson and Homa Bay governor Gladys Wanga and her deputy Oyugi Magwanga are backing opposing candidates, amid a potential fallout.

Wanga, for instance, is supporting ODM candidate Boyd Were, while Magwanga has thrown his weight behind Independent candidate Philip Aroko. The duo, despite being elected on an ODM ticket, are openly reading from opposing scripts.

The by-election has also attracted Abok Isaac Kiche (Kenya Moja Movement), Bior Robert Money (Independent), Kotiende Sam Rateng Okoth (United Progressive Alliance), Omondi Collins Okeyo (Movement for Democracy and Growth), Koyoo Ishmael Omondi (National Liberal Party), Linda Aoko (Independent), and Robert Ouko Ouma (Labour Party of Kenya).

As campaigns hit fever pitch ahead of next week’s by-elections, residents and observers are waiting to see how the race that has attracted electric campaigns will pan out. Many believe the candidate’s agenda will have little influence in determining the race.

While some observers believe the strength of the ODM party, clannism, and experience are likely to be factors in determining who becomes the next MP, others opine that the wave of violence, agenda, financial muscles, and political camps will likely to play a role in determining who becomes the next MP.

For Wanga, the race is almost a must-win as she attempts to strengthen the ODM party in the region in her bid to ensure that the party remains untouchable in the region despite Raila’s absence. 

The major political players in the region appear to have thrown their weight behind specific candidates, with Aroko and Boyd leading the front.

Interestingly, the two have also been on the spot over the violence that has rocked the constituency during the campaign period.

Wanga has led several campaign rallies for Boyd and has even rallied their allies in UDA, led by Deputy President Kithure Kindiki, to campaign for the youthful contestant.

However, despite the spirited campaigns, the race is far from over as other candidates roll up their political sleeves for a strong showing against the Orange party.

Aroko, an independent candidate who has also marshaled up numbers to his fold, is not leaving anything to chance and is boasting of the support of influential politicians from his fold.

Apart from Deputy Governor Magwanga, political operative and UDA footsoldier Odoyo Owidi has also thrown his weight behind Aroko.

Yesterday, as candidates delivered their last pitches to the electorate ahead of the polls, controversies over the violence that has been witnessed in the area dominated campaign rallies.

Magwanga, the deputy governor, launched scathing attacks against Boyd and claimed that his father’s dark past clouds his ambitions, and urged voters to reject him.

He was speaking during a campaign rally for Aroko, where he claimed that the fate of the constituency was at a crossroads if voters settled on Boyd.

According to Magwanga, Boyd is inexperienced and his candidature is already clouded by his father, the late Ong’ondo Were’s legacy when violence rocked his term in office.

“He is not qualified. He is too young and does not even have a wife. As an elder, where would you even sit with him if you were to have a meeting?” said Magwanga.

The DG, who has intensified his efforts to decampaign Boyd, the ODM candidate, complicates his relationship with his boss, Governor Wanga.

On Friday, Moses Ouma, a voter in Kasipul, told The Standard that Boyd was being forced on the people of Kasipul and claimed that his candidature stood no chance.

“Boyd will struggle to shake off the claims of violence that rocked the tenure of his late father,” said Ouma.