By Kepher Otieno - Reporter
Kenya, 11 January 2026 - President William Ruto’s bid for a second term has pierced the political heart of Nyanza, after a delegation of Siaya County Assembly members, led by Speaker George Okode, openly pledged to campaign for him in a county long regarded as the political home of the late Raila Odinga.
The move has intensified an already volatile power struggle between Governor James Orengo and a growing faction of regional heavyweights led by Opiyo Wandayi and Dr Oburu Oginga Odinga.
Interior PS Dr Raymond Omollo who has been driving the Ruto two term President agenda in Nyanza was also present.
What began as a development engagement quickly morphed into a political statement. Emerging from their meeting with the President, the MCAs framed their mission as a conscious shift in Siaya’s political direction.
“We came to engage our President on development, but also on the future of our people,” Speaker George Okode said.
“You cannot develop Siaya from the opposition benches. We must sit at the national table, and that is why we are ready to walk with President Ruto into 2027.”
The MCAs did not hide their enthusiasm. Several members publicly described themselves as Ruto’s foot soldiers, promising to sell his development agenda across Siaya’s wards as he seeks to consolidate Nyanza votes for a second term.
For Ruto, the Siaya outreach is part of a larger strategy to break the political monopoly Raila Odinga once held over Luo Nyanza.
Without Raila who was the dominant opposition figure, the President has moved quickly to cultivate local elites, betting that economic promises and political inclusion can loosen the grip of old loyalties.
At the centre of the tension is Governor James Orengo, who has remained one of Ruto’s fiercest critics even as key leaders in his backyard drift toward cooperation with the national government. Orengo’s refusal to align with the President has left him increasingly isolated as Wandayi and Oburu Oginga Odinga quietly rally regional leaders behind a new political reality.
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Wandayi moved to downplay claims ofu rebellion after the MCAs’ visit sparked outrage among Orengo’s allies.
“The MCAs simply sought and got a chance to meet and compare notes with their President. A very positive development for Siaya and Kenya. We look forward to more of such engagements,” the CS said, framing the engagement as pragmatic rather than treacherous.
But beneath the diplomatic language, politics is boiling. Orengo’s supporters are reading the MCAs’ public embrace of Ruto as a warning that the governor’s confrontational posture could come at a price. Quiet talk of possible impeachment has begun to circulate, with critics claiming that the well-resourced MCAs returned from their meeting emboldened and politically armed to push Siaya into the government’s orbit — with or without their governor.
One MCA was blunt about the new alignment. “We were elected to deliver services, not to fight the President.
If supporting Ruto’s second term brings roads, markets and water to our people, then we will do it without apology.”
That calculus highlights the new politics shaping Nyanza: ideology is giving way to development-driven pragmatism. For years, Siaya’s political identity was built around resistance. Now, as Ruto’s government controls the purse strings, local leaders are choosing access over protest.
For Orengo, the challenge is existential. His brand has always been rooted in defiance and principle, but those very qualities now risk marginalising him in a county where power is shifting toward cooperation with the state. As Wandayi and Oburu consolidate influence, the governor faces the prospect of becoming a lonely voice in a rapidly realigning region.
For Ruto, however, the MCAs’ declaration is a political prize. It signals that even in Raila Odinga’s former stronghold, loyalty is no longer automatic — and that 2027 will be fought not just in traditional swing regions, but deep inside opposition territory.
As Siaya’s elected representatives chant Ruto’s two-term slogan and pledge their grassroots networks to his campaign, the battle for Nyanza’s future has moved from the shadows into the open. What happens next will not only shape Siaya — it may help decide who occupies State House after 2027.
