“Babu! Babu!” – Nyando Youth Heckle Homa Bay Governor Wanga as ODM Succession Wars Explode (WATCH)

The political landscape of the Nyanza region has shifted from mourning to a full-blown “Game of Thrones” following the Tuesday visit of Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga and other ODM stalwarts to Nyando. In a scene that underscored the deepening fractures within the Orange party, a planned tour to promote “party unity” and the “Broad-Based Government” was met with fierce resistance. Hundreds of local youths disrupted the proceedings, drowning out the leaders with chants of “Babu! Babu!” in solidarity with Embakasi East MP Babu Owino.

The hostility in Nyando isn’t an isolated incident; it is a symptoms of the identity crisis gripping ODM since the death of Raila Odinga in October 2025. The party is currently split into two warring camps. On one side are the “Old Guard” and party elders, led by Oburu Oginga and Treasury CS John Mbadi, who advocate for the “Linda Ground” movement—a strategy that champions cooperation with President William Ruto for regional development. On the other side is the radical, youth-led “Linda Mwananchi” faction, fronted by Babu Owino and Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna, who argue that joining the government is a betrayal of the party’s revolutionary roots.

The tension reached a boiling point last week when the National Executive Committee (NEC), meeting in Mombasa, resolved to oust Edwin Sifuna as Secretary General, replacing him with Busia Woman Rep Catherine Omanyo. However, Sifuna secured a temporary reprieve from the Political Parties Disputes Tribunal, which halted his removal. This legal stalemate has only emboldened the youth base, who view the attempt to purge Sifuna and sideline Babu Owino as an “administrative coup” meant to muzzle the voices of those still loyal to the original opposition mandate.

As the Silicon Savannah watches the drama unfold, all eyes are now on the March 27 National Delegates Convention (NDC) in Nairobi. This gathering is expected to be a high-stakes showdown where the party must decide its 2027 trajectory. Will ODM fully integrate into the Kenya Kwanza administration, or will the “Linda Mwananchi” faction succeed in pulling the party back to its populist, anti-government stance?

In Nyando, the message from the ground was clear: the youth are not interested in the “handshake” politics of their elders. As the 2027 General Elections loom, the struggle for the “Orange Soul” is no longer just happening in boardroom meetings in Nairobi, but in the dusty streets of Nyanza, where the next generation of leaders is being forged through fire and defiance.