Barasa shrugs off ‘turncoat’ tag over his links with ruling Kenya Kwanza

Kakamega governor Fernandes Barasa has found himself between the proverbial rock and hard place owing to his dalliances with leaders allied to the ruling Kenya Kwanza Alliance.

Barasa was elected on the ODM ticket under Azimio La Umoja coalition in the August 29, 2022 elections and went ahead to take over as the Orange party’s county chairman.

He has since, however, aligned himself more with leaders allied to Kenya Kwanza. This has raised a storm in the county with ODM leaders now branding him a turncoat.

People Daily has established that the governor could face sanctions from his party this week.

UDA Secretary-General Cleophas Malalah opened the can of worms on Saturday when he claimed that Barasa had told President William Ruto that he will support his re-election in 2027.

“I am happy that you agreed to support the President now and in 2027. I will do the same for you if you stick by your word,” Malalah told Barasa during the launch of the county chief’s tournament in Navakholo constituency.

But political commentators said yesterday that it was telling that Barasa never responded to the assertions at the venue but chose another forum in Shinyalu constituency to respond, a day later.

“I am in ODM to stay and rumours that I am warming up to UDA are falsehoods,” he said when he presided over a fundraiser at St. Agnes Mukulusu Catholic Church.

Interestingly, he was being hosted by Shinyalu MP Fred Ikana who is a Kenya Kwanza insider. Barasa, Ikana and Ikolomani MP Bernard Shinali, also of ODM, instead vowed to unite in push for development.

They said they would work together to ensure the county benefited from the Kenya Kwanza administration.

The leaders said they would not be dictated by their political persuasions but forge a unity of purpose whose main objective is to achieve their development goals.

Backlash

“I am the ODM chairman in Kakamega County while my brother Ikana is the ANC boss. Shinali is the chairman of the Parliamentary Group in our County and was elected on the ODM ticket,” said Barasa.

He added: “We have, however, resolved to put our political affiliations behind us and decided to focus more on what unites and not what divides us. That is our development agenda.”
Ikana and Shinali said they had already achieved a lot together since last year’s elections due to their close working relationship.

Barasa is facing a backlash from mainly his predecessor Wycliffe Oparanya, who is the ODM Deputy Party leader, and Woman Representative Elsie Muhanda who are demanding that he quits Azimio.
Muhanda has declared her interest in the governorship and is believed to have the blessings of Oparanya.