Kisumu women’s group rallies behind william Ruto’s bid for a second term.
The latest declaration of support for President William Ruto by a section of Kisumu West women highlights an emerging political recalibration in a region long defined by its unwavering loyalty to the late Raila Odinga.
Luo Nyanza has for decades operated within a political orbit shaped almost entirely by Odinga, whose influence framed not only electoral patterns but also the community’s political identity.
In this context, the open endorsement of Ruto—articulated by women’s leader Elizabeth Ochieng—is significant both symbolically and politically.
“After the death of Baba Raila Odinga, he left us with President Ruto,” Ms Ochieng said, positioning their support not as a break from tradition, but as a continuation of the late leader’s ideals.
At the heart of this emerging alignment is a deliberate appeal to Raila’s legacy of peace, unity, and sacrifice.
The women present their support for the current administration as consistent with the broad-based governance ethos that Raila championed in his final years.
Ms Ochieng emphasised this point, urging Kenyans to preserve what she described as the hard-earned stability forged by the late statesman.
“Kenyans shouldn’t destroy the existing peace that the late Raila created with his own sweat and blood, and by staying behind bars for nine years,” she said, invoking a moral imperative rooted in shared memory and collective struggle.
Such framing aims to soften the cultural and political sensitivity surrounding any shift in loyalties within the region.
Their endorsement is also grounded in tangible development projects attributed to President Ruto’s administration and delivered locally through Interior Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo.
The women cited housing for widows, education support schemes in Nyanza, and capital for women-led enterprises as evidence of meaningful engagement by the government in the region.
“Dr Ruto should be given ample time to complete these projects, and we wish to back his second term,” they said, linking political support to material benefits.
By highlighting these initiatives, the women articulate a pragmatic argument: that cooperation with the national government is essential for ensuring the region’s development, especially in a post-Raila political era marked by uncertainty and transition.
The repeated emphasis on peace as a developmental precondition reflects longstanding concerns in Nyanza, where electoral cycles have often brought anxiety and unrest.
For the women of Kisumu West, political cooperation is framed as a safeguard against a return to instability.
