Real winners and losers in ODM's push for DP slot

ODM leaders Simba Arati and Gladys Wanga welcome defectors to the party. [Wilberforce Okwiri,Standard]

Over the last few months, there has been growing speculation over who will be President William Ruto’s pick for running mate in the 2027 General Election.

There has been haggling and jostling for the position within Ruto’s UDA party with Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru among others strategically positioning themselves as alternative candidates to current Deputy President Kithure Kindiki, who has seemingly dropped down the pecking order over perceived inability to galvanise Mt Kenya voting bloc.

The broad-based agreement between former Prime Minister Raila Odinga and President William Ruto, which saw ODM join government has further complicated the situation, with the party now demanding an equal share of the cake.

At the broad-based government leaders’ retreat in Naivasha this week, ODM deputy party leader and Kisii Governor Simba Arati restated the party’s position that they will be gunning for the DP position and a 50-50 sharing formula for Cabinet slots, parastatal positions and ambassadorial placements in the pre-2027 election framework. But who should ODM front for the slot?

This growing demand, and the geopolitical arithmetic brings to the fore the reality that Kenya’s second-in-command post-2027 may hail from Luo Nyanza should Ruto win re-election, for only the second time in Kenya’s history. With the defection of Mt Kenya from UDA to Rigathi Gachagua-led DCP party, Ruto will be seeking an assured voting bloc to shore up his numbers.

Western, once perceived as an assured bloc for President Ruto, recently experienced a tectonic shift with the entry of Edwin Sifuna and his Linda Mwananchi movement into the battle for control of Luhya vote. This has left the region’s broad-based leaders including National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula, Cooperative CS Wycliffe Oparanya and Prime CS Musalia Mudavadi in the lurch.

With Oparanya seemingly out on the stands, and party leader and Siaya Senator Oburu and Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga seeking to retain their seats, ODM remains with Mining CS Hassan Joho, Treasury CS John Mbadi and Energy CS Opiyo Wandayi on the playing field.

Joho is disadvantaged since the Coast region does not have the numbers Ruto needs to win re-election, leaving  Mbadi and Wandayi as likely picks. Both were close Raila allies, serving under him both in the ODM Executive team and as in parliamentary minority leadership positions. Opinion is divided on who between the two can be an asset in President Ruto’s quest to clock in Luo Nyanza, marshal ODM support across the country.

Wandayi is seen a towering political figure who has measured temperament, broad leadership experience and the political maturity worthy of a deputy president. His focus on development politics has won him three consecutive parliamentary elections in Ugunja Constituency since 2013, and catapulted him to the chairmanship of powerful Public Accounts Committee. His stint as the Leader of the Minority in the National Assembly, Wandayi won public admiration as a defender of the rule of law and advocate of the interests of Kenyans, leading the Opposition in rejecting the controversial Finance Bill, 2024.

Besides bringing the numbers that Ruto needs, Wandayi stands as the beacon of hope in a reinvigorated and charged Kenya that yearns for good governance, accountability, and national cohesion.

The writer is a political commentator