What ODM’s entry into Ruto’s Govt means for Mulembe Nation and why Lusaka should be listened to
BY BENSON KILONZI.
At the tail-end of the homecoming ceremony of newly-appointed Co-operatives Cabinet Secretary Wycliffe Oparanya, the Minister invited veteran musician Sukuma Bin Ongaro to sing one of his hits at the request of President William Ruto who was present at the event held at Mabole Primary School last month.
The impatient crowd appeared agitated. They wanted to end there and then .
Until Oparanya rose to the podium to address the multitude: “Enywe shimwitsile hano okhulia (haven’t you people come here to eat)? he posed to which those present replied in the affirmative and in unison, loudly so.
Oparanya then advised them to first listen to the respected artiste and then they would be allowed to eat to their fill as there was enough food for everybody.
It was all about eating. Reports indicated that 30 bulls had been slaughtered for the ceremony.
After Sukuma Bin Ongaro finished singing, Oparanya introduced his wives and children and asked the President to help him complete the construction of a local school which had stalled since he exited as Governor of Kakamega in August 2022.
Noticeably, however, the two political supremos of Western Kenya; Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi and National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula as well as Bungoma Governor Kenneth Lusaka, were not present.
Also noticeably was the fact that no development agenda for the region was canvassed before the Head of State during Oparanya’s glamorous home coming ceremony.
Elsewhere, a week earlier President Ruto had attended two not dissimilar functions in Siaya and Homa Bay counties for newly appointed Energy and National Treasury Cabinet Secretaries Opiyo Wandayi and John Mbadi respectively.
However, the two events in Luo Nyanza attracted all the political heavyweights from the region drawn from both the Government and the Opposition.
Unlike the Oparanya event at Mabole where eating and merry-making was the sole purpose, the functions hosted by Wandayi and Mbadi centred on development of Luo Nyanza and the entrenchment of ODM Party and the Luo community into the Ruto-led the Government.
The disparity in the approach to development by the political leadership in the former Western Province and that of Nyanza is raising eyebrows among some of the political luminaries in the Mulembe Nation.
The grand reception Ruto was accorded during the homecoming of both Wandayi and Mbadi and the organised manner in which the local residents lobbied for the development projects caught the attention of Lusaka, the Governor of Bungoma.
During a church service in his county on the Sunday following Ruto’s trip to Nyanza, Lusaka told worshippers who included Ruto himself that the reactions of the people Luo Nyanza when the President visited the region should be an awakening call to the people of Luhyialand.
Stated Lusaka: “I was with the President during his tour of Nyanza. Those people there are serious. Though they did not vote for President William Ruto, they are now coming and they are coming in large numbers and with commitment. That should sound a warning to you in this region of Mulembe.”
The Bungoma Governor warned the Luhyia nation to make solid political decisions that will enable people from the community to be firmly part of the current and next governments.
“My people, let us learn some lessons from our neighbours in the Lakeside. Though they are barely one month in Government, our brothers and sisters from the Nyanza are very categorical about their interests and unequivocal about their intentions.
“They do not mince their words. Though they are still coming, it is clear that they are going to overtake us who have been in this Government longer and occupy the front seat while we watch.
“We must wake up now, stop the petty fights and backstabbing among ourselves and get focussed if we want to read from this Government and the next, otherwise we are going to be left behind whining and lamenting without anyone’s attention,” Lusaka noted.
President William Ruto dissolved his Cabinet two months ago, leaving Mudavadi as the sole acting Cabinet Secretary for 21 ministries in addition to his portfolio of Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs for two weeks.
When he reconstituted the Cabinet after a fortnight, Ruto brought in five new ministers from the opposition Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) headed by former Prime Minister Raila Odinga who is currently seeking the chairmanship of the African Union Commission (AUC) chairmanship with the strong backing of President Ruto and the diplomatic canvassing Mudavadi.
The ODM quintet is composed of Oparanya, Wandayi, Mbadi, Beatrice Askul Moe (East African Community) and former Mombasa Governor Hassan Ali Joho (Mining and Blue Economy).
Though not politically aligned by virtue of the office she holds, new Attorney -General Dorcas Agik Oduor is highly believed to have been nominated by Raila, the ODM supremo.
Raila’s six Cabinet appointees are more than those drawn from the two main political parties in Western Kenya, thus Mudavadi’s Amani National Congress (ANC) and Wetang’ula’s Ford Kenya combined.
That anomaly drew Lusaka’s attention.
“It is time we, the people of Mulembe, must watch what is happening with a lot of interest. We must stand up and work together if we have to achieve any meaningful development. We must discard our usual divisive politics and strive to speak in one voice.
“We should all rally behind President William Ruto ahead of 2027, vote as a bloc and strategise for one of our own in 2032. Otherwise, the newcomers in Government from ODM are going to overrun us as we watch. If that happens, let us not blame anyone else except ourselves. We must act fast and reasonably,” Lusaka observed.
