By Kepher Otieno - Reporter
Kenya, 11 January 2026 - A bold political realignment appears to be taking shape among young voters in Migori after the Migori Students Caucus publicly threw its weight behind President William Ruto, citing his record on student welfare and development while alleging that United Opposition had nothing new to offer.
In a statement issued after a day-long meeting to assess national and regional politics, the caucus said President Ruto had demonstrated “care about students’ welfare, especially on the most important issue of the new funding model and the prompt disbursement of Higher Education Loans Board (HELB).”
At a time when the new university funding regime has sparked both anxiety and expectation among students, the endorsement signals how pocketbook issues are beginning to reshape political loyalties beyond traditional ethnic lines.
The students also welcomed the fragile truce inside the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), saying they were “praying that the ceasefire holds.”
The pause in open hostilities within ODM comes as the late Raila Odinga’s party navigates succession questions and its evolving relationship with the Kenya Kwanza government, creating space for grassroots actors to stake out new positions.
But the most striking part of the caucus’s declaration was its outright rejection of what they alleged is the “Gema formation” now rallying around former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and ex–Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i.
Interestingly, Dr Matiang'i is from the same Nyanza region as Migori.
They claimed that President Ruto has good intentions for the Luo community and "he is treating Nyanza residents equal partners rather than political foot soldiers".
“The United Opposition and its leaders cannot be trusted," the caucus charged, reviving long-running grievances about past power-sharing arrangements under Presidents Mwai Kibaki and Uhuru Kenyatta.
By explicitly linking Matiang’i’s emerging opposition profile to that same legacy, the students positioned their support for Ruto as a conscious break from what they see as cycles of political exploitation.
Invoking Raila Odinga’s own political philosophy, the students said they were unwilling to remain neutral in a polarised national environment.
“Jakom Raila Amolo Odinga never sat on the fence when difficult choices were being made. He picked a side however hard it was and stuck by it. In this particular example, we have taken the side of Ruto,” their statement said, framing their endorsement as a continuation rather than a betrayal of Raila’s tradition of decisive politics.
Their appeal to President Ruto went beyond symbolism.
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The caucus urged him to make his development agenda in Nyanza more visible, calling for “Development Days in every sub-county” and the establishment of development desks so residents can better understand and access government programmes.
While acknowledging that the President “is surely doing a lot to our people,” the students argued that clearer communication and structured engagement would help translate policy into tangible political goodwill.
The statement also took direct aim at former President Uhuru Kenyatta, whom the students accused of attempting to reinvent himself as a kingmaker in a post-Raila Luo political landscape.
“His scheme to posture as a Luo leader of the post Raila era because Raila was his friend will not work,” they warned, arguing that Mt Kenya voters had rejected Raila’s leadership even when Uhuru backed him in 2022.
They questioned Uhuru’s sincerity, asking why he never campaigned with Raila in the Mt Kenya region the way Raila once did for Kibaki in Nyanza in 2002, or why he did not visibly support Raila during his African Union Commission bid.
They also made unverified allegations that the former president's community celebrated Raila’s loss, "something that he has never condemned to date".
They cast doubt on any attempt by Uhuru to claim a special relationship with the Luo electorate.
The Migori Students Caucus’ intervention highlights how Kenya’s younger, more politically conscious demographic is beginning to speak with a sharper, more transactional voice—one less anchored in old alliances and more focused on who delivers on education, development and inclusion.
In tying their support for Ruto to concrete issues like HELB funding while rejecting familiar opposition figures from Mt Kenya, the students are signaling a generational shift that could complicate both ODM’s internal dynamics and the calculations of the emerging opposition.
Whether their call resonates beyond Migori remains to be seen, but it underscores a growing reality: in Kenya’s fluid political moment, even traditional strongholds are no longer immune to realignment when economic and generational pressures collide with long-standing political mistrust.
Migori Students Back Ruto, Hope ODM Ceasefire Holds
Young Migori Voters Back President Ruto, Reject Gachagua-Matiang’i Alliance
