Siaya Governor James Orengo is a man under siege and if there is one ODM governor in Luo Nyanza who is not assured of re-election, then it is Mr. Orengo. The governor has already fallen out with his deputy, William Oduol, who has declared he will take Mr. Orengo head-on in 2027. There are, however, indications that Mr. Oduol and former gubernatorial candidate Eng. Nicholas Gumbo could run as a pair
By The Weekly Vision Team
A week after Siaya Senator Dr Oburu Oginga celebrated his 80th birthday in style; it now appears that he is not planning to retire from politics any time soon according to his handlers who say that the Senator is likely to defend his seat in 2027. The Senator has brushed off those proposing that he should retire from politics, telling them to show him a better candidate than him.
During the well-attended birthday and Thanksgiving party also attended by the Azimio coalition’s top brass, his handlers sent warning signals to those entertaining any idea of their man retiring soon, advising them to be ready for a titanic battle in 2027. The matter of Dr. Oburu’s continued stay in office as Senator beyond 2027 has raised political tempers in the county, with the majority of residents saying that it is high time he retired. Those opposed to the senator are said to be plotting how to sponsor a credible candidate to send him home in 2027. Political arithmetic in Siaya County for the 2027 elections appears complicated for the ODM party, as rebellion among the public against the party is causing sleepless nights among the party’s top hierarchy.
To begin with, Siaya Governor James Orengo is a man under siege and if there is one ODM governor in Luo Nyanza who is not assured of re-election, then it is Mr. Orengo. The governor has already fallen out with his deputy, William Oduol, who has declared he will take Mr. Orengo head-on in 2027. There are, however, indications that Mr. Oduol and former gubernatorial candidate Eng. Nicholas Gumbo could run as a pair.
Mr Orengo’s greatest challenge will be finding a suitable running mate in 2027. Interestingly, should Gumbo and Oduol run as a pair, Governor Orengo will be compelled to pick a running mate from Alego in an attempt to split the votes from that region. Oduol comes from Alego, the area that has the highest number of registered voters in the county, according to IEBC’s 2022 voter register, which indicated that the constituency has 122,002 registered voters.
There are also calls for former Rarieda MP Raphael Tuju to succeed Dr. Oburu as Siaya Senator in 2027. Tuju is a former Rarieda MP and enjoys overwhelming support across the county. However, unconfirmed reports indicate that if Dr. Oburu decides to retire, he will push his son Jaoko Oburu to run for either the Siaya senatorial seat or the Bondo parliamentary seat. Jaoko is currently a chief officer in Governor Orengo’s government.
Sources further divulged that the Odinga family wants to retain the senatorial seat, and word is doing the rounds that East African Legislative Assembly MP Winnie Odinga could run for the Siaya senatorial seat to replace his uncle, Dr. Oburu.
Although Winnie’s proposal is still unconfirmed, there are also speculations that she could go for either the Bondo parliamentary seat or the Siaya women’s representative’s seat. The current Bondo MP, Dr Giodeon Ochanda, is one of the rebel MPs expelled by ODM for working with the Kenya Kwanza administration and President William Ruto.
There are also those pushing for Siaya Women Representative Christine Ombaka, who is serving her second term, to retire at the end of her parliamentary term in 2027. This is where Winnie Odinga’s name is being mentioned as a possible successor.
