Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga said on Sunday that the Orange Democratic Movement will keep all of its elective seats in Busia County, rejecting suggestions that the party has lost ground since the death of its former leader Raila Odinga.
Wanga, who chairs ODM nationally, made the remarks in Teso South during the Imwatok Super Cup, a football tournament held in Odinga's memory, according to The Star, Kenya. The event formed part of the party's Mwezi Wa Baba commemorations, a month-long programme marking the first anniversary of Odinga's death in October 2025.
She told residents that Busia is the county most closely tied to ODM anywhere in Kenya, placing it ahead of her own Homa Bay stronghold, and asked them to stay with the party.
Why it matters
The statement is Wanga's most direct public answer yet to speculation about ODM's future without Odinga, who led the party for roughly two decades and remained its central figure until his death. Busia, in Kenya's western region, has long been one of ODM's most reliable bases, and any erosion there would signal wider trouble for a party now navigating both a memorial year and the run-up to the 2027 general election.
Wanga's comments also tie the party's fortunes to the broad-based government arrangement with President William Ruto, an alliance that has drawn criticism from within and outside ODM. Defending that partnership in front of a Busia crowd suggests the party's leadership intends to campaign on its record inside government rather than distance itself from it.
Wanga rejects claims the party is finished
According to The Star, Kenya, Wanga said some people had argued that ODM was effectively buried along with Odinga. She countered that the party remains firmly in place and will defend every seat it holds in the county.
She pointed to the scale of ODM's support in Busia as evidence, describing the county as the party's deepest base in the country and asking residents to keep backing it.
The governor also addressed the party's role in the broad-based government, saying the arrangement was meant to spread development across all regions rather than concentrate it in one area. She said ODM and Kenya Kwanza would together see off opposition challenges, adding that the contest would be decided early on polling day.
Wanga praised Nairobi County Assembly Majority Leader Peter Imwatok for putting the tournament together in Odinga's honour, saying it gave young people a way to take part while keeping the former Prime Minister's legacy alive.
A delegation tours Funyula and Teso South
Wanga led a group of ODM figures to Busia, where Busia Governor Paul Otuoma received them. The delegation included Cooperatives Cabinet Secretary Wycliffe Oparanya, National Assembly Minority Leader Junet Mohamed, Migori Woman Representative Fatuma Mohamed, Imwatok and former Busia Governor Sospeter Ojaamong, along with other party officials, according to The Star, Kenya.
The leaders visited Funyula and Teso South constituencies as part of the Mwezi Wa Baba schedule. The programme, which the party set aside for October 2026, is intended to mark one year since Odinga's death and to highlight his role in Kenya's democratic development and in Pan-African politics.
Activities opened with a countrywide candle-lighting ceremony on October 2 and continued with a memorial rally in Kakamega on October 9. More events are planned in northern Kenya, the Coast, Kajiado and Turkana, with the programme due to end at a rally in Nairobi on October 31.
In Busia, the Imwatok Super Cup drew political leaders and local residents together, and the visiting ODM team used the occasion to talk about party unity and its continuing presence in the county.
Party unity under scrutiny
The Busia visit comes amid open discussion within ODM about how candidates will be selected for 2027. The Standard reported that Wanga pledged free and fair party nominations ahead of the elections, a commitment that speaks directly to the internal tensions the exercise is likely to stir.
Kenyans.co.ke reported that Ruth Odinga warned over the handling of direct tickets, signalling that not everyone in the party is satisfied with how nominations may be conducted. Direct tickets, which allow a candidate to be handed a seat without a competitive primary, are a recurring source of friction in Kenyan parties, and ODM is no exception.
Wanga has also sought to play down the scale of internal disagreement. People Daily reported that she described ODM as stable and said only one figure, Siaya Governor James Orengo, had walked away. Citizen Digital reported that ODM leaders maintain the party is still strong and have defended the broad-based arrangement.
Taken together, the messaging from the Busia events is consistent: the leadership wants to present a party that has absorbed Odinga's death, kept its structure intact and is preparing for an election rather than managing a decline.
What to watch
The Mwezi Wa Baba programme runs until the Nairobi rally on October 31, giving ODM a platform in the Coast, northern Kenya, Kajiado and Turkana before the month closes. How the party handles nominations — and whether the complaints raised by figures such as Ruth Odinga grow louder — will be the clearest early test of whether the confidence Wanga voiced in Busia holds through 2027.
