Who will take over as Luo/Luhya kingpin when RAO finally calls it a day? My take on potential candidates’ weaknesses/hindrances/strengths:
The Luos;
James Orengo - age is not on his side.
Otiende Amolo - Elitist. Not a crowd puller or mover.
Migunax2 - Lost his way when he made his disagreement with RAO extra personal. Now viewed as a mad man by many.
Millie Odhiambo - Very strong man, except that she’s a woman and that plays against her.
Evans Kidero - That one was lost and he lacks charisma.
Tom Ojwang’ - His late brother would have been a top candidate. He has the ability to step up but prob6for that to happen he needs to be pushed.
Gladys Wanga - Read no (4) above.
Babu Owino - Has all the qualifications needed: bravery, bravado, charisma, intelligence. What plays against him is the DJ Evolve saga.
Opiyo Wandayi - The jury is still out on this one.
Onto the Luhyas;
11) Wycliffe Oparanya - Lacks charisma. Not a mobilizer.
12) Eugene Wamalwa - If he steps up he has a good chance
13) Mudavadi - Needed to lean on another’s back every time despite his long history in Kenyan politics. Perhaps not good enough.
14) Moses Wetang’ula - Stronger than Mudavadi. May have been a good one.
15) Cleophas Malala - One that got away.
Finally, RAO is narcissistic egomaniac as are most politicians. It’s a good thing that his fight for self interests tends to intersect with the interests of Kenyans as a whole or of Luos specifically at times.
Was his “holiday” successful given that it mostly affected only Kisumu and Nairobi? My answer is an unequivocal YES. As long as there’s a standstill in Nairobi which is responsible for 60% of the country’s GDP, then success had been achieved. WSR needs to be giv3n te to pursue his agenda. His appointments so far have however left a lot to be desired and for those he doesn’t need time to prove that he’s shown Kenyans the middle finger. His appointments do not inspire any hope. The demos yesterday could help in making the executive think twice when making decisions for the country and to remember that Riggy G’s shareholders remarks were in bad taste!
Siasa 101: The new Luo Nyanza political kingpin will be PLANTED and PROPPED up by RAO’s competition.
They will have studied keenly all of RAO’s strengths and weaknesses.
They will have studied all the strengths and weaknesses of the Luo electorate.
They will be keen not to forget all the pain and frustration they might have felt from RAO. To them, you can go tell RAO’s credentials of pro-reforms, pro-democracy, being pro-poor etc. to the birds.
Eugene Wamalwa has a greater chance of being the next enigma…no one will ever take Baba’s support base, that will never happen but by a case where Baba quits politics or dies the support base will disintergrate and the only person that can gather some from the support base will be a luhya or kisii…Among the Luhyas Eugene Wamalwa comes first and I have seen him putting in the work, he has charisma, doesn’t appear tribe focused but he comes off as a nationalist , he is a person that can pull other tribes for support coz the tribe card doesn’t hang on him…the other people capable of that are Musalia, Simba Arati or Natembeya…going forward I see interesting times when Baba won’t feature in elections
It perhaps may not be possible to mobilize the Luo as one people after RAO. The various sub groups have always been very independent but only perceived heavy oppression by the central govt against one of their own brings them together. The likes of Tom Mboya, Jaramogi, RAO, Robert Ouko…
RAO seems to be the last man standing of these tribal heroes and no one seems to have earned the mantle to succeed him
Should not miss on a list that Babu Owino is featured + /-