Raila Odinga’s foot soldier Millie Odhiambo has conspicuously isolated herself from Team Embrace where her fierce rival and Homa Bay women representative Gladys Wanga has proved to be a key player.
Millie
The Suba North MP recently publicly disassociated herself from the women movement, championing for a post-handshake pact between Raila and Uhuru Kenyatta.
Her remarks came as a great surprise to the political observers as many had expected her to be one of the active players in the team, rivaled by Inua Mama which is championing for William Ruto’s presidency.
The financially well-oiled Inua Mama and Team Embrace movements have heightened political activities across the country.
Millie and Wanga were once inseparable allies in ODM leader Raila’s inner camp but became fierce rivals when the Homa Bay women representative began enjoying popularity in the camp and in national politics.
The two women leaders were previously embroiled in a nasty war of words that extended to parliament after Millie accused Wanga of incompetence in resource management.
Prior to the parliament drama, Millie had castigated Wanga on her Facebook and vowed not to support her ambitions to succeed Homa Bay governor Cyprian Awiti claiming that Wanga’s leadership style is abrasive, divisive and manipulative.
Wanga
Keen observers are quick to point out that the origin of Wanga and Millie political wars could be attributed to the Homa Bay women representative’s loud entry into politics that almost diluted the Suba MP’s influence in Raila camp.
Pundits concur that Wanga immediately stole the show with her theatrics in defending the ODM leader, including an incident when she splashed water on deputy speaker Joyce Laboso in parliament.
Laboso was on speaker’s seat when MPs were recalled for a special session to debate security laws which were perceived to be controversial and had been criticised for taking away some civil liberties guaranteed in the constitution.
Another notable face missing in action in the Embrace team is the former Kisumu women representative and nominated senator Rose Nyamunga.
Nyamunga has been engaged in a longterm open supremacy wars with her successor Rosa Buyu and the two leaders have not stopped attacking each other, nearly three years after Kisumu voters’ verdict.
Whereas Nyamunga has resorted to sending mixed signals on which positions she salivates for ahead of 2022 elections, Buyu has remained her main target in her unending salvos.
Buyu is a consistent feature in Team Embrace but Nyamunga has been selectively attending the movement’s functions.
When the more than 30 Embrace members stormed Kisumu city recently, Nyamunga literally stole the show when she was listed as one of the speakers at the Jomo Kenyatta Sports grounds.
Mbadi
Surprisingly, when she took to the podium, she laced her speech with talks calling for a truce between her and Buyu for the sake of area development.
She had earlier labeled the women representative as a slay queen and a nonstarter who had only perfected in twerking (vibrating off her buttocks) at the expense of poor development in the area.
The battle for Homa Bay governor in 2022 is the reason behind the Wanga, Millie bad blood. Raila’s name features with both camps trying to win his support.
Suba South MP John Mbadi is one of the frontrunners and is facing stiff competition from Wanga rumoured to be eyeing the seat. To show Wanga is running for county top seat, when Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria, endorsed the vocal female lawmaker for governorship while he was chief guest in Homa Bay, she smiled broadly. Of late her supporters refer to her as madam governor.
Millie is allied to Mbadi camp and has no time for Wanga whom she refers to as a foreigner married in Homa Bay. Wanga has roots in Kisumu Kano clan. On the other side, Wanga claims Millie should pack and leave Kenya since she is married to a Zimbabwean. Wanga says she is a Kenyan while Millie is not a Kenyan having failed to impress any Kenyan man to marry her due to her questionable social life only to find a foreigner to rescue her.
Kaluma
Wanga and Mbadi have Raila’s ear and want to succeed Governor Awiti. Also in the race is the former Kasipul MP Oyugi Magwanga who challenged Awiti’s win in 2017.
Insiders say Millie is bitter that Wanga has stolen the limelight by being a key player in Embrace Kenya to endear herself to Raila. If Millie joins the women group, she will play second fiddle to Wanga and thus be seen as her political subject hence the decision not to be associated with the outfit.
In Homa Bay county, scheming for 2022 general election is on. Apart from Wanga, Mbadi and Millie, others to watch are Moses Kajwang’ who succeeded his late brother Senator Otieno Kajwang’ and is serving his second term in office.
The youthful senator has emerged articulate and vibrant in the senate committee he serves. If Mbadi and Wanga do not agree, Raila is likely to surprise many by endorsing Kajwang as a compromise governor candidate.
Magwanga
The Kajwang family is close to the Railas going by the fact that one brother Tom Kajwang, the man who swore in Raila as people’s president is MP for Kasarani in the capital, Nairobi.
Peter Opondo Kaluma the Homa Bay Town MP is too said to be eyeing the Homa Bay gubernatorial seat.
