How Barasa, Oparanya supremacy battle threatens Ruto's Western Kenya grip

Cooperative Cabinet Secretary Wycliffe Oparanya and Kakamega Governor Fernandes Barasa. [File, Courtesy]

The supremacy battle between Kakamega Governor Fernandes Barasa and Cooperative Cabinet Secretary Wycliffe Oparanya has escalated, threatening to weaken the broad-based government in the Western region.

Other than the supremacy battle between Barasa and Oparanya, Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna's rising wave in the region has also complicated President William Ruto's chances in the voter-rich Western region.

Meanwhile, Governor Barasa and CS Oparanya have been at loggerheads for three years, with each leader accusing the other of undermining his role at both the county and national levels.

Barasa alleges that Oparanya has been threatening MPs from Kakamega who associate with the county boss, warning them that they will be blocked from securing ODM nomination certificates in the next polls.

The dispute erupted following an empowerment programme in Kakamega town organised to raise funds for tuk-tuk operators, where Lurambi MP Titus Khamala threw his weight behind Barasa's re-election bid.

Khamala, previously regarded as one of Oparanya's strongest allies, reportedly received a stern phone call from the Cabinet Secretary questioning his sudden political shift.

The MP's ally said he felt comfortable supporting Barasa’s re-election due to the governor’s development record, despite his earlier position of backing Oparanya's ally, Kakamega MP Ms Elsie Muhanda.

Tensions reached a boiling point on Thursday in Matungu Constituency while Barasa was distributing Sh60 million in grants to women, youth, and Persons Living with Disabilities (PWDs).

The county chief openly accused Oparanya of fuelling division among local leaders through confrontational politics and covert gatherings.

Governor Barasa went a step further, calling on President William Ruto to reconsider Oparanya’s status in the Cabinet, alleging that the CS had abandoned his national duties to focus on provincial turf wars.

“I want to tell William Ruto, the President of the Republic of Kenya, that the CS you appointed has lost direction. Give that responsibility to somebody else. His work here every day is division and pitting leaders against each other,” Barasa said.

Barasa insisted that Oparanya ought to conduct himself with the decorum required of a Cabinet Secretary and leverage his executive position to foster unity across Kakamega rather than engineer political rivalries.

“If you want to help William Ruto, help him look for votes. Do not divide the people of Kakamega,” the governor emphasised.

He further alleged that the Cooperatives CS has been orchestrating a campaign of intimidation against dissenting voices.

"I was in attendance at an empowerment programme in Kakamega town organised by our area MP Bishop Titus Khamala, but after the programme, Oparanya called the MP threatening that he would not give him a ticket for working with me, and yet Oparanya resigned from the ODM party, and he is no longer an official but just a member," Barasa asserted.

While maintaining that he retains deep respect for President Ruto and his administration, Barasa criticised the Head of State for allowing Oparanya's continued political excursions in Kakamega.

“We respect you as our President, but here in Kakamega you have given us a problem—a Cabinet Secretary who does not understand his role and thinks his job is to bring divisions every day,” he stated.

He challenged Oparanya to show his record of tangible development projects in the county, arguing that residents know which leaders have championed meaningful growth.

"Kakamega residents will decide who to elect as governor, MPs, senators, women representatives and MCAs based on their track record and not Oparanya because he has just one vote and he cannot dictate to people how to vote," Barasa added.

However, the governor's sharp rebukes triggered an immediate backlash from Oparanya’s loyalists. Khwisero MP Aseka Miradi urged Governor Barasa to concentrate on his executive mandate and cease launching attacks against a national leader.

"I heard Governor Barasa attacking CS Oparanya. I want to tell him that Oparanya is a national leader; you should stop attacking him and instead focus on delivering to the people of Kakamega," Aseka stated.

The Khwisero lawmaker characterised Barasa’s demand for Oparanya's dismissal as uncalled for and unacceptable.

"Our governor has reached a point of telling the president to sack Oparanya. We want to tell him that respect is paramount, and if you don't stop disrespecting Oparanya, we will make you do so," Aseka warned.

In contrast, Matungu MP Oscar Nabulindo rose to Governor Barasa's defence, arguing that the hostility directed at the county chief was anchored in ethnic mobilisation rather than objective evaluation of his development record.

"My governor has done a tremendous job, and he is being attacked not because of development but because there are some people who do not want parts of Kakamega to rule; they are obsessed with ethnicity, and they are afraid that the governor is poised for winning the second term, and they want to block it, but we are declaring that we will not accept it," Nabulindo said.

For his part, Oparanya addressed the lingering feud during a church service in Navakholo a month ago, maintaining that he remains focused on his Cabinet responsibilities for now but promising a decisive political return early next year.

"We have some people I helped to win various seats, but as politics is sometimes interesting, they are saying they were popular; some argue that I did not assist them. But currently I am focused on my job as a CS, but I will come back next year in February to give my political direction and face off those leaders despising me," Oparanya said.

The bitter fallout between the two political heavyweights began three years ago when Oparanya claimed Barasa betrayed him despite his instrumental role in securing Barasa’s election as governor.

Barasa countered those claims, alleging that Oparanya demanded half of the County Executive Committee (Cabinet) slots to distribute among his cronies as a reward, a demand the governor says he firmly rejected.

In response, Oparanya initially backed MP Aseka to challenge Barasa in the upcoming 2027 gubernatorial contest before the Khwisero lawmaker backtracked to focus on defending his parliamentary seat.

Oparanya then formed an unexpected, brief political pact with his long-time rival, Senator Boni Khalwale.

However, that alliance quickly crumbled when Oparanya disowned Khalwale after the senator publicly claimed he had secured Oparanya’s endorsement to defeat Barasa.

Following the collapse of that pact, Oparanya threw his weight behind Kakamega Women Representative Elsie Muhanda, who remains actively in the gubernatorial race to date.

Speculation of further tactical realignments intensified when Oparanya met with DCP Deputy Party Leader Cleophas Malala.

The meeting fuelled rumours of a coalition involving the former Kakamega Senator and Ms Muhanda, leading to joint campaign tours across the county aimed at decampaigning Barasa, though that political marriage similarly proved short-lived.

The proxy war escalated further during the election for the Kakamega County ODM Chairmanship, where Oparanya fielded and supported Lugari MP Nabii Nabwera against Barasa. Governor Barasa ultimately defeated Nabwera to secure the party's top county seat.

The aftermath of those party elections spurred the formation of the "G8" parliamentary caucus led by Oparanya, comprising Women Rep Elsie Muhanda, MPs Aseka Miradi (Khwisero), Oscar Nabulindo (Matungu), Nabii Nabwera (Lugari), Emmanuel Wangwe (Navakholo), Titus Khamala (Lurambi), and Bernard Shinali (Ikolomani).

Barasa, meanwhile, consolidated his own parliamentary defence axis featuring MPs Tindi Mwale (Butere), Innocent Mugabe (Likuyani), Johnston Naica (Mumias West), and Peter Salasya (Mumias East).

However, competing local interests have caused the G8 group to fracture. Matungu MP Nabulindo and Navakholo MP Wangwe broke ranks to support Governor Barasa’s gubernatorial retention, with Wangwe maintaining that he still regards Oparanya as his political mentor.

Lurambi MP Khamala, who had bounced back and forth, recently signalled firm alignment with Governor Barasa, joining Malava MP David Ndakwa in backing the sitting governor.

As both camps dig in ahead of 2027, the protracted warfare threatens to destabilise Western Kenya's political landscape.