WANJAWA: Battle for Western Kenya’s soul waged in Kakamega

Kakamega County governor Fernandes Barasa speaking during a women empowerment programme in Kakamega on July 18 2025/ Fernandes Barasa/X

Politics in Kakamega has erupted into a storm few anticipated. At face value, it looks like a duel between Governor Fernandes Barasa and Cabinet Secretary Wycliffe Oparanya. But beneath the surface lies something far more consequential: a struggle for control of ODM, the elusive crown of Mulembe leadership, and the balance of power ahead of 2027.

This is not a county quarrel; it is a political earthquake with tremours shaking the wider Western bloc and reverberating into national realignments.

 Oparanya is no ordinary rival. A two-term governor, former ODM deputy party leader and now Cabinet Secretary in President William Ruto’s government, he embodies networks, resources, and gravitas. For two decades, he was Raila Odinga’s trusted lieutenant in Western Kenya — the strategist who delivered votes, chaired nominations and carried ODM’s grassroots machine on his back. His word was law in Kakamega.