ODM party leader Dr Oburu Odinga is wooing Movement for Democracy and Growth (MDG) party leader David Ochieng to fold his party and join the political outfit to realise his Siaya gubernatorial dream.
He assured Ochieng of the full party’s support to ensure he comfortably secured the Siaya governor’s seat during the general 2027 elections
" I want to ask David Ochieng to come and join ODM. We will receive him with two hands and ensure he becomes the governor of Siaya. I do not know what is so sweet in MDG that Ochieng cannot leave it for ODM to be the governor of Siaya," Oburu remarked.
The charm offensive from the ODM party leader on the MDG leader comes amidst uncertainty in the ODM camp on who is best suited to replace the incumbent governor, James Orengo, at the helm of Siaya county government.
The county's political arithmetic and regional balancing is proving to be a headache for the ODM party, with the hindsight that electorates from Ugenya constituency would prefer one of their own to replace Orengo, and now that the pioneer Siaya governor, Cornel Rasanga, who hails from Alego Usonga constituency, has already served for two terms between 2013 to 2022.
Orengo, who hails from Ugenya, is currently serving his first term and has fallen out of favour with the ODM party and is on record saying he will be vying for the presidency in 2027.
Kenya Sugar Board chair Eng Nicolas Gumbo and speaker George Okode of ODM party, who all hail from Rarieda constituency, have expressed interest in the seat and are seen as the front runners to replace governor Orengo, a move that may affect ODM party popularity in Ugenya.
To appease electorates in Ugenya constituency, high-profile names, including that of Energy CS Opiyo Wandayi, who hails from Ugunja constituency, which was annexed from Ugenya, have emerged as an antidote to the political matrix, with the other option being highly considered by ODM, being Ugenya MP David Ochieng, albeit his party affiliation.
However, Oburu's attempts to woo Ochieng into the ODM fold appear to contradict and rattled the political equation after he publicly threw his weight behind Gumbo's 2027 gubernatorial bid earlier in the year.
Speaking at a fund drive in Siaya town, organised by KUPPET, Oburu assured the electorate that the ODM party will not favour any candidate during nominations, adding that the party will only give tickets to candidates who have been fairly nominated by the people.
“This time around, I will not let anyone hang on my coat. You will not get any assistance from anybody at the headquarters. You have to go to the people and seek their mandate," Oburu told potential aspirants in the coming polls.
Oburu also extended an olive branch to those who had decamped from the party following previous sham nominations to rejoin the party under his new leadership.
The event was attended by CS Wandayi, who told politicians from the region who are not part of the team supporting a broad-based arrangement to forget any elective posts in next year’s elections.
MDG leader David Ochieng, who attended the event, however, remained adamant over the overtures, clinging to his earlier resolve to contest for the seat through his own party ticket.
The fund drive in aid of KUPPET Siaya branch was also attended by Gem Member of Parliament Elisha Ochieng, Dr Gedion Ochanda (Bondo), and Samuel Atandi (Alego Usonga), who all backed the ODM party for working with the government of President William Ruto under a broad-based arrangement.
The leaders hailed president Rutos government for improving the education sector in the country by hiring more than 100 thousand teachers and doubling budgetary allocations over the last three and a half years.
