RUTH ODINGA under fire for looking down upon Nyanza leaders and claiming no Luo can fill RAILA’s shoes

 Tuesday, September 19, 2023 – Kisumu Woman Representative Ruth Odinga will regret looking down upon Nyanza leaders.

This is after leaders criticized her for claiming that no Luo can fill Raila Odinga’s shoes when he retires.

The irked politicians, especially from South Nyanza, accused the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga family of trying to dominate politics in the Lake Region.

They accused Raila’s sister of being reckless in trying to create a campaign mood in the country just a year after the 2022 elections and using it to influence the outcome of the next polls, especially at the grassroots level.

Ms Odinga said she is not convinced yet that there is a politician who can succeed her brother as the Luo kingpin.

This follows calls by some politicians who have asked the opposition leader to retire from politics and let another person succeed him.

Among people being fronted to take over from the former prime minister include Ugunja MP Opiyo Wandayi.

But Ruth argued that no one is ready yet to be a presidential candidate from Nyanza, except for his 78-year-old brother.

A group of Nyanza politicians allied to President William Ruto’s UDA said the statement by the woman rep is an attempt by the Odinga family to continue deciding who should be leaders in the four Lake region counties (Kisumu, Siaya, Homa Bay, and Migori) where the majority of leaders are from ODM.

According to South Nyanza UDA coordinator Kennedy Ondiek, it is wrong to say that no one from Nyanza can be president besides Mr Odinga.

Raila has vied for the presidency five times and lost to different candidates.

It is not clear if he will be on the ballot in the next election but the statement from his sister Ruth shows that he is likely to feature in the ballot box in 2027.