By Bonface Mulyungi
Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga has suggested that ODM should negotiate a deputy president slot for former Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho in any possible 2027 political arrangement with President William Ruto’s camp.
Speaking during an ODM youth convention in Malindi on Sunday, Wanga said any talks should be conducted on the basis of equal partnership, insisting that positions must be put on the table and shared on a 50-50 basis.
“If we enter talks, we will enter as equal partners. Everything must be put on the table — it will be fifty-fifty. If they have the President, ODM will have the Deputy President,” Wanga said.
The move rekindles the reasons advanced for removal of Rigathi Gachagua impeachment in 2024 with ‘Shares’ narrative.
“We demand equal shares in government. Not little things”, Wanga said.
She added that ODM would not approach negotiations “like people begging”, arguing that once the party secures the deputy president position, it should also bargain firmly for other seats and roles.
“And once we get that, we won’t just walk in quietly like people begging. We will go in firmly and negotiate properly — and say: we have this number of Cabinet slots, we have the Deputy President position; is Joho good enough or not?” she posed.
However, Wanga also appeared to take aim at political opponents, saying ODM would not engage people she accused of land grabbing, an issue she said remains sensitive at the Coast.
“We also cannot hold talks with those people whom we know have a record of grabbing land. Because here at the Coast, our father fought for land issues,” she said, adding that former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and his allies had such a record.
Wanga’s remarks come in the wake of renewed talks between ODM and UDA to manage tensions within the broad-based government arrangement, with President William Ruto and ODM acting party leader Oburu Odinga recently leading the parties’ steering committees in a meeting at State House, Nairobi.
In a joint statement after the talks, the parties said they agreed to establish a Broad-Based Management Committee bringing together party leaders, selected Cabinet ministers and the Majority and Minority leaders in Parliament to coordinate the government’s legislative and executive agenda.
The meeting followed complaints by ODM over what it termed “unwarranted public utterances” by some UDA officials, which it said risked straining ties between the two parties.
At the same time, Wanga has claimed associates of united opposition grabbed land in Coast province and must therefore be rejected.
He said thousands of land in Malindi, Kilifi and Kwale have been grabbed by “Gachietha” people hence the need to reject
