During the Senate debate on the impeachment of then Meru Governor, Kawira Mwangaza, in August last year, Homa Bay Governor Moses Kajwang’, after absorbing all the intrigues and drama from that impeachment process, rose up and declared that as at that time, everyone in Meru county appeared to have gone mad.
His sentiments were based on all the evidence adduced during the trial, which was a combination of shocking misogyny, divisive political rhetoric and tribal slurs.
I am not sure what the articulate senator would say about his own county today, where politics oscillates between the dangerous and the bizarre, dragging in players willing to wallow in the mud for political points.
And because 2027 is not too far away, it is safe to say the desire to outdo each other in rhetoric and defamation is fuelled by the need to position oneself for the tricky dispensation ahead.
Last month, Kasipul MP Ong’ondo Were, was assassinated in a brazen shooting near the City Mortuary roundabout.
To understand the political narratives that followed the murder, it is important to examine the history of assassinations of prominent sons of the Luo community, almost always blamed on the sitting government, and usually followed by public riots.
In the case of Were, a combination of the absence of an obvious government motive, as well as his relatively unknown stature, saw his death greeted by unusual calm. It was left to politicians, especially from Homa Bay, to drive the subsequent narratives.
First off the blocks was Governor Gladys Wanga, who declared that “ODM had not signed a broad-based agreement with the government for the assassination of its people”.
It is imperative to note that Governor Wanga is one of the biggest supporters of the cooperation framework between President William Ruto and ODM leader Raila Odinga.
Some say she has her eyes firmly set on Ruto’s running mate’s position in 2027, should the political partnership last that long, and should Ruto tap an ODM leader for the role.
It was quite odd for her to be the one making remarks that were widely interpreted to be pointing accusing fingers at the government for the murder of the MP.
I have to revisit, for the umpteenth time, the Nigerian saying that a toad does not run in the daytime without something after its life.
And Governor Wanga, at least before she attempted to walk back on her comments, would not target Ruto’s government in that manner, unless her political life was being threatened. But by who? Regardless, her comments and those of other local leaders, had poisoned the environment so much, and created such a siege mentality, that at least one relative of the deceased was captured on video blatantly accusing a senior government official of complicity in the murder.
In Kenya’s “Western hemisphere”, Homa Bay county tends to stand out as a liberal, progressive county, where women have been consistently elected to the national assembly in hard-fought contests.
It currently boasts not only the single female governor in that entire region, but has three serving female members of the national assembly, namely Millie Odhiambo (Suba North), Dr Lilian Gogo (Rangwe) and Dr Eve Obara (Kabondo Kasipul).
These are not mere women leaders, but are remarkable achievers and thorough professionals in their own right. On this score, the county stands out as beacon of progressive hope for many, and a benchmarking point for other counties.
As far as state power goes, the county also boasts of immense executive and parliamentary influence. It is the home county of John Mbadi (CS Treasury), Dr Raymond Omollo (PS Interior) and Hon Millie Odhiambo (National Assembly Minority Whip).
Neighbouring counties are not averse to being jealous of this perceived lofty position. However, beneath this veneer of cool harmony, there appears to be deep seated jealousy, borne out of the push and pull towards top-dog status in local political horse-trading in 2027.
The funeral of Hon Ong’ondo Were brought out a hitherto quiet discomfort among sections of the ODM leadership in Homa Bay, over the rising influence of PS Omollo in both local and national governance circles.
It turns out that jealousy, like a running stomach, is difficult to contain. They don’t say it out in public, but many Luo leaders angling for any future positions in Ruto’s re-election plan, have to contend with the fact that PS Omollo is not only one of the frontrunners, but already has the President’s ear and confidence, without needing any political party deals.
Interestingly, the same local ODM networks in Homa Bay which claim to support the broad-based arrangement, always waxing lyrical about “our people must be in government to eat our share”, are the ones who are said to be pushing for the removal of the powerful PS.
Which begs the question of how “our people can eat their fair share in government” when jealousy and political intrigues push leaders to seek the removal of the most well-placed government official from the community.
Perhaps the county has developed a propensity to cannibalise itself, which makes its leaders blind to the comparative advantages right at its doorstep.
Some of my favourite leaders come from Homa Bay county. In fact, I hold that Kajwang’ and Millie Odhiambo, by their sober, dignified and principled approach to politics, need to play a bigger role in the upcoming regional and national political changing dynamics.
There is an acknowledgement that recent political tensions in Luo Nyanza, where pundits have purported to classify elected leaders in terms of pro and anti-government formations, are rooted in the Raila succession matrix.
The trouble with such successions is that rabid ambition and personal interests often cloud public interest and end up propping up less-than-ideal leadership.
Homa Bay County is not really the most violent or politically volatile one in the country. In fact, the rest of the nation only got to hear of the ugly face of political violence following the death of Kasipul MP, when social media commentators, many of them vilifying the departed legislator, painted a grim picture of what had been going on in the grassroots.
The late MP’s body had barely been laid to rest when what was said to be an assassination attempt on Deputy Governor Oyugi Magwanga happened.
These are dangerous times. Regardless of the motive, the spectacle of a murdered MP being followed by an assassination attempt on the deputy governor is testament to a shocking and unhinged recklessness that has to be arrested. But it behoves local leaders to also tone down on the rhetoric and guard against words that inflame passion and poison the political environment.
Following the death of Were, a byelection will certainly be on the way, after the IEBC is reconstituted. The county happens to be the one in the entire Luoland where the ruling UDA has emerged as a strong player in the land, thereby creating real competition with the local favourite, ODM.
Whatever it takes, security forces must tame those who will try to use the Kasipul byelection to perpetuate the political madness now taking root in Homa Bay.
The writer
is a political
commentator
