The political ground in Kakamega appears to be shifting, with Ford Kenya party leader and National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula hosting a high-powered delegation of ODM leaders at the home of Lurambi MP Bishop Titus Khamala in Eshibuli, Kakamega County, on Friday, September 19, 2025.
In attendance were a number of ODM lawmakers, including Kakamega Woman Representative Elsie Muhanda, Lugari MP Nabii Nabwera, Khwisero MP Christopher Aseka Wangaya, and Shinyalu MP Bernard Shinali.
Also present was the Cooperatives and MSMEs Cabinet Secretary and former Kakamega governor Wycliffe Oparanya, who doubles as ODM Deputy Party Leader.
The rare political gathering has sparked speculation of an imminent defection by Kakamega ODM leaders to Wetang’ula’s Ford Kenya, signalling deepening cracks within ODM’s Western Kenya base.
The move comes just days after Kakamega Governor Fernandez Barasa was declared the new chairperson of the ODM Kakamega County branch, defeating Lugari MP Nabii Nabwera.
The declaration immediately ignited controversy, with Oparanya and Muhanda dismissing the outcome.
In a dramatic show of defiance, the two leaders held a homecoming event for Nabwera, declaring him the “real winner” of the Kakamega ODM chairmanship polls.
By rallying behind Wetang’ula, a seasoned political kingpin in Western, the disgruntled ODM leaders appear to be sending a powerful signal to ODM Party Leader Raila Odinga.
Wetang’ula, who successfully delivered a bloc of Western votes to President William Ruto in 2022 under the Kenya Kwanza coalition, is now positioning Ford Kenya as the natural political home for disillusioned ODM leaders in the region.
If the defections materialise, they could reshape Western Kenya’s political arithmetic ahead of 2027, undermining Raila Odinga’s influence while strengthening Wetang’ula’s bargaining power within Kenya Kwanza.
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