A fierce political battle is looming in Siaya County, between Senator James Orengo’s camp and former Rarieda MP Nicholas Gumbo, after the latter ditched the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) for United Democratic Movement (UDM).

Gumbo alongside ex-police spokesman Charles Owino decamped from ODM to UDM on whose ticket they will jointly seek the governorship.

Gumbo will run as governor and Owino as his deputy on the UDM ticket, a key affiliate of the Azimio La Umoja movement.

Gumbo, a former National Assembly Public Accounts Chairman, said local politics forced him out of the Raila Odinga-led party but affirmed he will support the ODM leader’s presidential bid.

“I can say without any fear of contradiction, that coming together of the two of us has consolidated the votes for Azimio La Umoja presidential candidate because three-quarters of the registered voters in Siaya are behind because combined we have a strong command,” Gumbo told a press conference at Prosperity House, the headquarters for UDM.

“Therefore, our coming together is in one way of ensuring that in Raila Odinga stronghold like Siaya don’t have voter apathy,” he added.

Gumbo who ran as an independent candidate in the 2017 elections garnering 178,466 votes against governor Cornel Rasanga’s 195,678, claimed that there was already talk of voter apathy because people were feeling that they were not getting a chance to get everyone that they would like to vote for at the ballot.

He defended his decision to join UDM saying their move was to consolidate Raila’s vote basket and ensure Maximum turnout during the August 9th polls.

“Raila Odinga needs every single vote in Siaya County, and this is what our coming together is all about. That every single vote let the presumptive ODM candidate James Orengo do his bit to mobilize,” he said.

The ex-Rarieda legislator claimed if the duo did not pair up knowing who the presumptive ODM candidate is he would go to sleep and there will be serious voter apathy.

“So the people of Siaya should thank us for coming together to ensure that out of the 530,000 votes in the county, only those who have either passed on to the next world will not be going to vote for Raila on the ninth of August this year,” he held.

Drumming support for the former premier, Gumbo by Raila winning the presidency provides bigger space pays for accommodating all of us than what the winning merely winnings your county governor.

“So what we are doing here is just to make sure that we are encouraging everyone to try to do whatever it takes to make sure that as many people as possible to come out and vote,’ he added.

On his part, Owino defended their coming together with Gumbo saying that their main reason is that they noticed that we were going to have serious voter apathy in Siaya county.

“We are all in Azimio and I have decided to shelve my ambition for the position of the governor of Siaya in 2022 to allow my older brother engineer gumbo, to lead the pack, God willing come the ninth of August, he will be our governor,”.

“The people who are supporting me and the people who are supporting gumbo have been complaining in the last two weeks and saying they were not going to vote for Raila Odinga if we if I don’t get the ticket for ODM,” Owino said.

He went on: “Therefore I felt that we must support Raila and the reason for that has been to ensure that Gumbo and I join hands and also join with other persons; that we are going to compete so that every voter is voting for Raila Odinga without minding the candidate,” he added.

“I want to request everyone who had planned to run in all our counties in Nyanza and the whole of Kenya that anybody supporting Raila Odinga even if it is only going to be your vote and your wife if you are out to vie and let us harness the votes,” he added.

Mandera Governor Ali Roba, who is the UDM party leader said the coming together of the duo symbolizes the sacrifices that people can make for the greater good of the people that they represent.

“I just want to take this opportunity to officially flag off the campaign program and also put to rest the confusion in Siaya whether or not the two are in the race rumors,” said Roba, adding that the duo will be a formidable team to beat.