NYANZA, Kenya — Homa Bay County Governor Gladys Wanga has claimed that almost the entire political leadership of Luo Nyanza is now backing President William Ruto’s bid for a second term in the 2027 General Election, as the President kicked off a five-day development tour of the region on Sunday.
Speaking during the tour, Wanga, who also serves as ODM’s National Chairperson, said the overwhelming majority of ODM leaders in the region had rallied behind what she described as the “TUTAM” political path — a reference to Ruto’s re-election push.
“As the chair of the ODM Party, wacha niseme ya kwamba viongozi wote wa chama cha chungwa katika region hii, wako hapa isipokua mmoja. If you do the math, we are here 99.9999%,” Wanga said — asserting that every ODM leader in the region was present in support, save for one.
Claims on Governors and MPs
Wanga extended the claim to elected leaders more broadly, saying only one of the country’s 15 governors was not aligned with the political direction she associated with Ruto.
“In the country, we have 15 governors, only one ndiye pekee hafuatii hii barabara ya TUTAM,” she said.
She made a similar claim about MPs, saying only a small number remained outside that political alignment.
“Wabunge tuko na mia moja na, wabunge sita saba, ndio hawafuati hii barabara na wengi wao, walikuwa wametoroka chama before Baba aage dunia,” Wanga said — asserting that all but six or seven MPs were following the same path, and that most of those who had not were people who had already left the party before the death of ODM leader Raila Odinga.
Wanga’s remarks were not independently verified against a public list of MPs or governors, and reflect her own political assessment rather than a documented tally.
Signals on ODM-UDA talks
Wanga also indicated that ODM would formally enter negotiations with Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA) as the region’s political realignment continues ahead of 2027.
“Hapo mbele, tutaingia kufanya negotiations na chama cha UDA,” she said, without disclosing further detail on the timing or terms of any prospective talks.
Her comments build on earlier remarks by ODM leader Oburu Oginga, who has previously said he was mandated to negotiate directly with Ruto with the aim of securing political power for the region in 2027, describing the arrangement as part of a broader effort to work with the President’s administration.
A years-long realignment
Wanga’s remarks reflect a broader shift that has been building since ODM and Ruto’s UDA entered a broad-based political arrangement in mid-2024.
Since then, Ruto has made dozens of visits to Luo Nyanza, with Homa Bay — where Wanga has positioned herself as his most consistent host — receiving the largest share of those visits of any county in the region, according to an analysis of the President’s travel record.
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Not every ODM leader in the region has embraced the realignment as enthusiastically as Wanga. Siaya Governor James Orengo has maintained a more guarded stance toward Ruto’s Nyanza engagements, at times cautioning the President against what he has called weaponising development for political gain.
Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna, ODM’s Secretary General, has also been openly critical of Ruto in recent weeks, accusing the President of undermining devolution — a position that sits uneasily alongside Wanga’s characterisation of near-unanimous ODM support for the President’s re-election path.
Ruto’s five-day Nyanza tour, which began Monday with stops across Kisumu, Siaya, Migori and Homa Bay counties, is being closely watched as both a development showcase and a political exercise, with Wanga’s remarks placing renewed focus on how far the region’s ODM leadership has shifted toward the President ahead of the 2027 contest.
