Why Raila Odinga Will Have a Lot of Headache in the Homabay County Gubernatorial Succession Politics

Why Raila Odinga Will Have a Lot of Headache in the Homabay County Gubernatorial Succession Politics

Kenyans will go into another election circle next year. Many politicians have started aligning themselves by forming coalitions and joining parties which they think will propel their agenda in the year 2022. One of the seats that will be hotly contested is the Homabay County Gubernatorial seat. There are very many top politicians who are allied to Raila Odinga who are seeking to succeed the incumbent Governor, honorable Cyprian Awiti.

The incumbent Governor is serving his second and last term in office. He was lucky that he was elected twice on an ODM ticket. He did not actually have a smooth sailing in his Governance because of the constant attacks from his opponents and critics. According to them, the Governor ruled for two good terms but there is nothing that the county can boast of in terms of development as a result of the devolution.

There are very many reasons as to why Raila Odinga who is the Orange Democratic Movement party leader will have a lot of headache in the Homabay County Gubernatorial succession politics. This is because the seat has so far attracted very big political heavy weights in the county. All of them are his allies and it will be very difficult for him to select the best candidate to fly the ODM ticket. The following are the politicians who will give him some political headache.

The first one is the former Nairobi Governor, honorable Evans Kidero. He stated clearly that he will be in the ballot. He has been crisscrossing the county while popularizing his candidature. This even made some ODM legislators to develop some fear because he is a leader who has been a Governor and he knows what it takes to win a Gubernatorial election. To make it more interesting, he won the Nairobi Gubernatorial seat which is a very tough one. This is a clear indication that he can lure the Homabay county residents to give him the seat.

He is a son of Homabay County because he reigns from Gem Asumbi in Rangwe Constituency. To add on top of that, he is financially stable and he can finance his campaigns very well. He has very many sources of income that can propel his campaigns. His financial muscles alone is a big threat to the other candidates. Money is power and it can buy very many things. He is also a close ally of the former Prime Minister, they worked closely together during his tenure as the Governor of Nairobi County. He contested for that seat using the ODM ticket.

The Women Representative of Homabay county, honorable Gladys Wanga will also give Raila Odinga a lot of headache in the Homabay County Gubernatorial succession politics. She is the current Women Representative of the county.  She was elected on an ODM ticket. She has very many supporters because the residents elected her for the second term. This means that she is also a very big candidate in that race. She is also very vocal in and out of Parliament. This shows that she is equally fit for the job and she understands the county well. She is still a leader in that county and she knows what the people need.

She is a close confidant of Raila Odinga. She was also given a very big role in the National Assembly. She is one of politicians who will give Raila Odinga a lot of headache ahead of the 2022 elections. She has her own track record as the Women Representative. The former Prime Minister will have a lot of hard time because she is the only woman politician who stands a chance to become the first woman Governor under the ODM ticket. This will be a test for the ODM boss because he has been advocating for gender equality. He will be under a lot of pressure to endorse honorable Gladys Wanga.

Honorable John Mbadi is another leader who will give Raila Odinga a lot of headache in that position. He is the current Chairman of the ODM party and his position is a very prestigious one. He is also very influential and he is the leader of the Minority in the National Assembly. This shows that he is highly valued and favored in the party. His position is one that can only be held by a loyal party official. His loyalty to Raila Odinga may give the party leader a lot of hard time in choosing the best candidate to succeed Governor Cyprian Awiti.

There is also another politician who is a member of the ODM party and may give it another chance in the ballot. This is honorable Oyugi Magwanga. He was the first runners up in the last general elections. He gave Cyprian Awiti a very stiff competition and he even filed for a petition of the election results. He alleged that the elections were rigged in favor of the ODM candidate. He is loved by many people and if he decides to also go for the ODM party nominations, then he may also bring in some stiff competition

Honorable Raila Odinga will also have a lot of headache in that succession politics because the ODM party is the biggest party in the Nyanza region. In most occasions, the politician who gets the ticket is the one who always end up being elected. If at all, the ODM party will conduct the nominations and nominate a weak candidate, then another politician would win the elections. He must therefore think twice and make sure that the party will give its ticket to the best candidate.

The other politicians who may also want to give the Gubernatorial seat a try are, Hamilton Orata who is the deputy Governor. He knows how the county is being run since he had been in charge at one point when the Governor travelled abroad for medical attention. The others are Akelo Misori and Businessman Jared Kiasa. This will be a very tough race not only for the aspirants but also for the ODM party.