Undermined or power-hungry? The fallout between governors and their deputies
By Ndiritu Wanjiru, February 28, 2026The resignation of Oyugi Magwanga as a Deputy Governor of the county of Homa Bay has again put into the limelight the unstable and largely problematic relationship between governors and their deputies under the devolved system in Kenya. What is constitutionally shaped to be a partnership of leadership has actually, in the real sense, most of the time, become a square of mistrust, exclusion and political rivalry.
On Thursday, February 26, 2026, Magwanga resigned, citing months of a bad relationship with Governor Gladys Wanga. He reported that he had been sidelined in major functions within the county, and he had not been given the facilitation needed to perform his mandate. He said he decided after deep reflection and consultations.
“Today, after a deep reflection and consultation with leaders, supporters and my family, I have resolved to resign from the office of the Deputy Governor with immediate effect,” Magwanga stated.
His resignation highlighted a common trend in the county governments where deputies are becoming isolated as soon as a point of disagreement between them and their governors occurs. His case is not an isolated one but a broader pattern, which has characterised the devolved governance in Kenya since its inception in 2013.
The main cause of these conflicts is a failure in the structure of the constitutional design of county governments. The deputy governors are not clearly defined in the law because they are elected on the same ticket as the governors, but their roles and responsibilities are not well defined.
Rather, governors still have the power to delegate or retract responsibilities through their preference. Such an arrangement establishes a natural power disparity with deputy governors at the mercy of their bosses to stay relevant to the administration. Governors are able to marginalise their deputies to performatory roles easily when there are political or personal differences. This weakness of an institution has been seen in several countries.
In Nairobi, a former Deputy Governor, Polycarp Igathe, resigned on grounds of loss of trust and meaningful interaction with Governor Mike Sonko. Back in Kiambu, James Nyoro and Governor Ferdinand Waititu accused each other of marginalisation and later replaced him after Waititu was impeached.
In Kisii, Governor James Ongwae lost his political realignment with Deputy Governor Joash Maangi. On the same note, Governor James Orengo was at loggerheads with his Deputy Governor William Oduol in a row that led to impeachment issues in Siaya.
Sabotage or power-hunger?
These repetitive conflicts pose a very crucial question: are deputy governors victims of systematic sabotage, or are they politically ambitious and therefore engage in conflicts with their seniors? The solution is somewhere in between.
Governors, in general, are the heads of counties, and therefore they treat politically ambitious deputies as foes and not friends. Consequently, they will want to reduce the visibility of their deputies and their impact so that they can guarantee their own political future.
Conversely, the deputy governors often consider the job a stepping stone to the governorship, and therefore, political rivalry is nearly unavoidable, particularly during the time of elections. These relationships are further complicated by the fact that coalition politics are involved.
Governors’ choice of running mate
Several running mates are chosen to level ethnic, territorial, and political interests as opposed to shared governance ideologies. Although these arrangements could be successful in the campaigns, they tend to collapse when leaders come to power and have other divergent political ambitions.
In a nutshell, the constant backlash between executives and their deputies is not a one-time issue but an institutional flaw that is rooted in personal differences or power ambitions. The Constitution established the office of deputy governor without the establishment of clear operational authority, which exposes deputies to political vulnerability and makes them administratively vulnerable.
The recent overthrow of Oyugi Magwanga is not only a singular political phenomenon but also a piece of a bigger trend, which shows how uneasy and usually unstable alliances are the core of the devolved forms of governance in Kenya.