Kisumu Woman Representative Ruth Odinga has officially declared her interest in vying for the Kisumu governor’s seat in the 2027 General Election, setting the stage for what is shaping up to be a fiercely contested succession battle in the lakeside county.
Ruth said she is ready to seek the county’s top seat, becoming the latest high-profile leader to join the race to succeed Governor Prof. Anyang’ Nyong’o, who is serving his second and final term in office.
Her declaration is expected to intensify competition within the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), where several leaders have already expressed interest in the seat.
Among those linked to the race are Kisumu Deputy Governor Mathews Owili, Kisumu Senator Prof. Tom Ojienda, Kisumu Central MP Joshua Oron and former East African Community CAS Ken Obura.
Speaking during a public engagement in Kisumu, Ruth said leadership should be judged by service delivery, adding that leaders seeking higher office must first account for what they have done for the people.
“Before anyone can seek a higher office, they must first deliver fully on the mandate they have been given,” she said.
The bid marks Ruth’s latest attempt to become Kisumu governor. In 2013, she unsuccessfully contested for the seat before later joining the county government as the first Deputy Governor under the late Governor Jack Ranguma.
She also served as a senior adviser in the county administration before winning the Kisumu Woman Representative seat in the 2022 General Election.
A veteran ODM politician, Ruth is one of the most recognisable political figures in the Nyanza region.
She is the daughter of Kenya’s first Vice President Jaramogi Oginga Odinga and sister to the late former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, whose political influence has shaped ODM’s dominance in the region for decades.
With more than a year before the official campaign period begins, the race to replace Nyong’o is already gathering momentum, with political observers expecting a bruising contest for the ODM ticket, widely viewed as the biggest hurdle to winning the governorship in the party’s traditional stronghold.
