By The Weekly Vision
Politics in Luo Nyanza has taken a dramatic twist after President William Ruto’s successful tour last weekend. The region has overwhelmingly been supporting Raila Odinga’s political cause for decades, but things seem to have changed. President Ruto was at Oriwo Boys High School in Karachuonyo Constituency where he graced Principal Secretary Ministry of Interior Raymond Omollo’s homecoming ceremony last weekend.
Rebel ODM MPs in the region have however declared that their working with Ruto are individual decisions and that no amount of threat will make them subscribe to Raila Odinga’s and ODM’s manifesto again. The MPS say Raila’s political influence in the 2027 elections will be minimal and that Luo Nynanza will elect leaders, not political parties. The leaders now claim that in the forthcoming 2027 elections, ODM will no longer be a sure bet in Luo Nyanza. Unlike in the 2013 and 2017 elections, a majority of ODM candidates never even bothered to campaign after getting the coveted party ticket in the nominations.
The MPs also warned that Raila Odinga’s endorsement of candidates and issuing direct tickets shall never guarantee any candidate an outright win again as has been the trend. Mr Odinga has allegedly been awarded his foot soldiers with the party’s nomination certificate while the careers of other politicians have been swept aside by the six-piece voting calls. During the last general elections, in the entire region, he made the symbolic gesture of raising the hands of his troops as the chosen ones urging the electorate to back them overwhelmingly to strengthen his run for the presidency.
Despite the endorsements, however, ODM candidates did not overwhelmingly win seats as opponents contesting as independents and other parties stepped up their campaigns, opponents gave the preferred candidates a run for their money. The trend in the region has been that not unless you run on the ODM party ticket, your chances of clinching any seat always remained nearly zero. This trend has been on for decades until the last general elections where a few MPs were elected as independent candidates and on other party’s tickets.
The trend is slowly but tactically changing and it is against the emerging trend that rebel MPs are now saying that come 2027, Raila Odinga will be a spent political force who will not influence the outcome of the region’s representatives. The rebels believe that come 2027, the electorate will vote for individuals based on their past development records and what they can deliver and not political party affiliations.
Although there have been rumours that Mr Odinga is likely to retire from active politics to pave the way for Wiper Leader Kalonzo Musyoka and Narc Kenya leader Martha Karua, whether his political influence will be dimmed with such a move is still unknown. We have gathered that the rebel MPS now claim that since Raila’s name will not be in the 2027 presidential ballot paper, there will be no political wave that has been experienced in the region for the past two decades. They claim that they will soon launch a massive movement to liberate the Luo community from ‘’Odingaism’’.
The rebel legislators who have rebelled against Raila and who have promised to defend their seats under Kenya Kwanza in 2027 are Phelix Oduor (Lang’ata), Mark Nyamita (Uriri), Elisha Odhiambo (Gem) Paul Abuor (Rongo), and Caroli Omondi (Suba South). Others are Gideon Ochanda (Bondo) and Tom Ojienda (Senator, Kisumu). Also on the team are former governors Evans Kidero (Nairobi), Okoth Obado (Migori) and Jack Ranguma (Kisumu), Lake Victoria South Water Works Development Agency Chairman Odoyo Owidi and former MPs Martin Ogindo, John Pesa, Rose Nyamunga, Nicholas Gumbo and Edick Anyanga.
