The battle lines for Siaya’s top seat have been drawn — two years before the General Election.
Engineer Nicholas Odero Gumbo on Sunday publicly asked former Prime Minister Raila Amollo Odinga to bless his 2027 Siaya gubernatorial bid, declaring that the new Broad-Based Government arrangement has finally placed them on the same side of the political divide.
“I have contested for the same seat and lost twice because I approached the electorate through a different party. This time we are under the same umbrella, and I’m requesting your blessings, Baba,” Gumbo told Raila at a charged meeting in Rarieda Constituency, drawing a mixed reaction from the crowd.
Gumbo, a former Rarieda MP, has twice faced off with ODM’s political machinery — and lost. In 2017, he ran on a Federal Party of Kenya (FPK) ticket, breaking ranks with ODM after bruising party primaries. The move split votes but ultimately delivered victory to then-Senator Cornel Rasanga. In 2022, he tried again, this time under the United Democratic Movement (UDM) banner, mounting a spirited challenge but falling short against Orengo, ODM’s chosen flagbearer.
On Sunday, Governor James Aggrey Bob Orengo — his 2022 conqueror — wasted no time delivering a stinging rebuttal.
“It is foolhardy to expect Raila to support anyone who is not an ODM member — especially when I will be contesting on the ODM ticket,” Orengo declared, his voice cutting through the tense air.
The governor told Gumbo to first join ODM if he seriously wanted Raila’s endorsement, reminding the gathering that party loyalty, not convenience, decides political blessings in Raila’s stronghold.
Rarieda MP Paul Otiende Amollo echoed Orengo’s sentiments, urging leaders to abandon early succession battles and instead fortify ODM’s position under the Broad-Based Government deal.
“We should not be politicking about who becomes what in the next General Elections. The focus must be on strengthening the party,” he warned.
Raila, sandwiched between the two political heavyweights, kept his counsel — neither endorsing nor dismissing Gumbo’s request.
To political insiders, the silence spoke volumes. For a man known to carefully choreograph endorsements in his Nyanza backyard, Raila’s pause could mean the 2027 Siaya race will remain an ODM-controlled turf war until the party settles on its champion.
With the next election still two years away, Gumbo’s bold public plea — and Orengo’s fierce pushback — have fired the opening shots in Round Three of a rivalry that has now spanned over a decade. And in Siaya’s high-stakes political theatre, history shows that whoever wins Raila’s blessing often wins the seat.
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