UDA raids ODM in Western region

A new war front is looming in a broad-based government arrangement after President William Ruto-led United Democratic Alliance (UDA) Party raided the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party in the Western region while dismissing calls for zoning by the Orange party.

In a well-choreographed scheme, the UDA party is making inroads in the Western region with revelations that at least 10 ODM MPs from Kakamega are lined up to join the ruling party and defend their positions under the UDA ticket.

On Saturday, during the repeat of the UDA grassroots election in Kakamega, the ruling party moved to enhance its network and support in the Western region at the grassroots level ahead of the 2027 polls.

UDA officials, led by Party Secretary General Hassan Omar, Bungoma Governor Kenneth Lusaka (Chairperson of President Ruto's Western Campaign team), his deputy, Kakamega Deputy Governor Ayub Savula, and other MPs presided over a faction at UDA regional offices in Kakamega town. They received over 200 grassroots and national officials from the Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) who defected to the UDA.

There have been concerns from some ODM leaders that UDA is deploying a well-calculated political incursion move by bringing on board ODM lawmakers into the ruling party’s 2027 regional campaign team even before a formal agreement between the two parties.

In Kakamega County, in the Western region, already Lurambi MP Titus Khamala, who is serving his second term under the ODM party, has defected and joined UDA, and on Saturday, he was remotely coordinating the UDA grassroots election.

Khamala, who ditched ODM last month at his rural home in Shibuli, before members of the Western presidential campaign team led by Savula and MPs Mary Emase (Teso South), Fred Ikana (Shinyalu), Kakai Bisau (Kiminini) and Vihiga woman MP Beatrice Adagala, said he had joined UDA to boost the chances of President Ruto in winning votes in the Western region.

“I have today joined UDA from ODM. This is the beginning of my campaign for President Ruto in this region for the sake of development," he said.

“I was elected to Musalia Mudavadi’s ANC in 2017. I shifted to ODM in 2022, hoping that the Azimio La Umoja coalition would form the next government, but it missed. I don’t want to miss it again,” Khamala said.

However, on Saturday, a day after the ODM Special Delegates Convention in Jamhuri Grounds in Nairobi, where ODM lawmakers and leaders issued their irreducible minimums, including zoning in its strongholds, Kakamega DG Savula dismissed the claims and stated that the UDA will compete democratically with the ODM in all parts of the country.

"There is nothing like zoning; we will compete with ODM in all areas. We have MP Khamala of Lurambi conducting the UDA election in Kakamega, same as Navakholo MP Emmanuel Wangwe, and what does that tell you? We have 10 ODM members participating in the UDA election, and that is a clear indication that they are headed to UDA ahead of the 2027 general election," said Savula.

Savula, who was the first political leader to defect from the DAP-K party to the UDA, maintained that for President Ruto to have a smooth and easy win in 2027, the UDA must get the majority of seats in the Western region.

"We have seen what Ruto has done for this region in terms of development in just under three years. We have the Standard Gauge Railway coming from Kisumu to Malaba, besides construction and expansion of the Lironi-MauSamiti road and other appointments which the previous regimes have not achieved, including the opposition, and therefore the opposition has no space in Western," said Savula.

Governor Lusaka maintained that Ruto has demonstrated goodwill in terms of delivering developments to the people of the Western region, which guarantees him a second term.

"If Ruto has done what he has in three years, then it means if we give him 10 years, our region will be a powerhouse in terms of economy. He has extended the SGR from Kisumu to Malaba and dual-upgraded the Rironi-Mausamiti road, and this is to open up the economy of the Western region, and that's why we are rallying our people behind Ruto under UDA," said Lusaka.

Lusaka, who is a deputy party leader of the Ford-Kenya party led by National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula, has taken a front line to drum up support for President Ruto’s re-election bid in the Western, casting doubts about whether he subscribes to the Ford-Kenya party.

However, during the receiving of defectors from the DCP party from the counties of Bungoma, Busia, Kakamega and Vihiga, UDA SG Omar urged the defectors led by DCP National Coordinator Alex Khamasi to ensure President Ruto gets the majority of votes and support from the region.

"Ruto has come to correct the mess that was created by the previous regimes of skewed development. We have the Thika Highway in Central and other mega-projects, and he has decided to extend SGR to the Western region. He has made appointments of your sons and daughters in key government positions, and that is why we are saying we need to champion UDA in the west and rally behind Ruto’s re-election bid," said Omar.

He added, "The opposition has realised that UDA is a national and popular party in Kenya, and because they have nothing to offer, they have started making a lot of noise full of hatred, division and tribal politics championed by Rigathi Gachagua and funded by retired President Uhuru Kenyatta, who are the biggest saboteurs."

As the 2027 polls near and political calculations come to the fore, according to Ruto’s insiders, the head of state is courting ODM members in the west by banking on them to secure a decisive win following his fallout with former deputy president Rigathi Gachagua, who has poisoned the central region against him.

"He (Ruto) has reached out to members of ODM in Kakamega and across the region to board his UDA vehicle, and they are being given a lot of money for groundwork, mobilisation, and to popularise the party and his name in their respective areas. In Kakamega, which is a county with special interest, I know of six ODM MPs out of 10 who have already shifted to UDA, and they are just waiting to make a formal announcement. In Bungoma, Vihiga, and Busia, the same calculations are happening, and this is slowly edging out ODM from its strongholds," said an insider.

Adagala said it was a waste of time for communities in the western region to support the opposition because it has no agenda for the country.

“You cannot have an agenda called 'Ruto must go' and one term. Where is the opposition’s shadow cabinet?” said Adagala.

Emase said the wind of Ruto is blowing strongly in the West ahead of the 2027 general election. Bisau said the time is ripe for Westerners to be fully in the government.

Ikana said the opposition had no chances of getting votes in Western because of a lack of a clear manifesto.

However, Kakamega Governor Fernandes Barasa has maintained that Kakamega is an ODM zone and it will get the majority of the seats despite voting for President Ruto in 2027 under the broad-based arrangement.

Speaking in Khwisero Constituency, Barasa said the party is going to embark on a regional popularisation drive to make the party stronger ahead of its talks with UDA.

"I want to assure our party leader, Oburu Oginga, that Kakamega is firmly under ODM and we are going to popularise the party. I am in charge of Kakamega, and we will ensure we win all the seats and that of the presidency, which will be under the broad-based arrangement because we are behind President Ruto," said Barasa.

"We want to tell our brothers Edwin Sifuna and Godfrey Osotsi that they are our brothers and they have a democratic right to pursue their political journey, which does not mean indiscipline in the party, and to my party leader, the two have no influence in Kakamega or Western; we are going to ensure we are strong so that you can get strength when negotiating with UDA for ODM to either form or be part of the government," he added.

During the ODM NDC, MP Junet Mohammed and Governor Simba Arati warned against ceding ODM strongholds to UDA and other parties ahead of the negotiations, vowing to root for zoning.

However, political analyst Dr Barrack Muluka opines that President Ruto is weakening ODM in the West so that he can later tell Oburu to dissolve ODM and join UDA after losing its national support and identity.

"Ruto is the mastermind of what is happening in ODM; we have the ODM in the government and ODM in the opposition, and Ruto is keen on weakening ODM to a point where he will tell Oburu, for them to work together, he should dissolve ODM and join UDA, because he is keen on reviving and elevating UDA, which has lost massive support," said Muluka.