The promise of unity that underpinned Kenya’s Broad-Based Agreement is rapidly unravelling, exposing raw power struggles beneath the veneer of cooperation. ODM Chairperson Gladys Wanga has now gone public with scathing accusations against President William Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA), charging that the ruling party has violated both the spirit and letter of the deal meant to stabilise the country.
What was sold to Kenyans as a national healing pact is, in Wanga’s view, morphing into a calculated scheme to weaken ODM in its own strongholds. At the centre of these broad-based disappointments lies Nyanza, a region where ODM’s dominance is being openly tested by state power and political proxies.
Broad-based Disappointments Expose a Pact Under Siege
Speaking in Awasi, Wanga, who doubles as the Homa Bay Governor, accused UDA of political dishonesty and bad faith. She said the ruling party is actively plotting to field candidates in regions long regarded as ODM bedrocks, a move she described as a direct breach of the Broad-Based Agreement signed in March 2025. The pact, reached between President Ruto and the late Raila Odinga, was clear on one core principle respect for political spaces.
According to Wanga, the agreement explicitly barred political encroachment into ODM’s grassroots areas. Any attempt to disregard that clause, she warned, risks straining an already fragile working relationship. Her remarks were not rhetorical flourishes but a blunt message that ODM is watching closely and will not tolerate erosion of its base under the guise of cooperation.
The Memorandum of Understanding governing the deal laid out a 10-point agenda focused on stabilising the country, fostering economic growth, and protecting devolution. Technical teams from both UDA and ODM were formed to implement the agenda and manage competing interests within government. Yet, Wanga argues that what is happening on the ground bears little resemblance to those commitments, reinforcing the growing sense of broad-based disappointments among ODM leaders and supporters.
State Power and the Quiet Undermining of ODM Strongholds
One of Wanga’s sharpest criticisms targets the conduct of senior government officials operating in Nyanza without consulting elected ODM leadership. Interior Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo has repeatedly been singled out for rolling out development projects in Homa Bay while bypassing the county government headed by Wanga.
While development is welcome, Wanga’s allies argue that the manner in which it is delivered matters. Omollo’s frequent presence, coupled with minimal engagement with the governor, is viewed as a deliberate attempt to build an alternative political centre. Though Omollo has not declared interest in the Homa Bay governorship, his persistent friction with Wanga has fuelled suspicion that state resources are being used to quietly reconfigure local loyalties.
Wanga is not alone in this assessment. Other ODM leaders have raised concerns that Omollo, President Ruto’s Deputy Chief of Staff Eliud Owalo, and other UDA operatives are using government projects to establish political footholds in Nyanza ahead of the 2027 polls. To ODM, this is not neutral service delivery but strategic positioning, a clear manifestation of broad-based disappointments playing out in real time.
Kasipul By-election and a Test of Political Muscle
Nothing illustrates this conflict more vividly than the recent Kasipul by-election. A lineup of figures aligned with President Ruto, including Raymond Omollo, Evans Kidero, Okoth Obado and Odoyo Awidi, openly backed an independent candidate against ODM’s Boyd Were. The move stunned ODM insiders, who saw it as a coordinated assault on the party’s authority in one of its heartlands.
Gladys Wanga threw her weight fully behind Boyd Were, framing the contest as a referendum on ODM’s relevance under the broad-based arrangement. Against the odds and despite the backing of powerful state-linked figures on the opposing side, Were clinched victory. The result was a political embarrassment for UDA-aligned operatives and a morale boost for ODM.
For Wanga, the Kasipul outcome reinforced her argument that ODM’s grassroots still matter and cannot be easily dismantled. But it also underscored the depth of broad-based disappointments, revealing how far some within government are willing to go to undermine an ally while publicly preaching unity.
A Partnership at Risk as 2027 Looms
The stakes are rising as Kenya edges closer to the 2027 general election. Wanga’s warning is not merely about territorial politics but about trust. She insists that the Broad-Based Agreement can only survive if both sides honour its terms in full. Respecting political spaces, she says, is not optional but foundational to continued cooperation.
UDA’s alleged manoeuvres in ODM zones risk reopening old wounds and reigniting tensions the pact was meant to calm. For ODM supporters, the sense of betrayal is deepened by the fact that their party is a key partner in government, yet treated as expendable on the ground.
As broad-based disappointments mount, the question facing the Ruto administration is whether it values short-term political gains over long-term stability. For Gladys Wanga, the message is unequivocal. ODM will not surrender its strongholds quietly, and any attempt to hollow out its base under the cover of partnership will be confronted head-on. The broad-based deal, she warns, is either honoured in practice or reduced to a hollow promise with consequences Kenya can ill afford.
