Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi has promised to convene a meeting with all elected leaders in the entire Homa Bay County to calm the temperatures.

Speaking to a vernacular TV station on Wednesday, May 14, 2025, Mbadi revealed that in two weeks, he will organise the meeting, which seeks to address the internal feuds among leaders in the county.

Political intolerance in Homa Bay is getting out of hand, with leaders bickering, which, to me, is not a good thing,” Mbadi noted.

“We started well as a united people, but the recent spate of violence that has seen several people in our region butchered because of politics is just not right.”

I will convene a meeting next week or in the next two weeks so that we can bring all our leaders together and broker a truce,” Mbadi said.

He stated that the meeting will feature Interior and National Administration Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo and Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga, among other leaders in the region.

Ong’ondo Were’s death

The statement comes just days after Kasipul MP Ong’ondo Were was buried after he was shot dead on Ngong Road while heading to his Nairobi home on April 30, 2025.

While 11 persons of interest have been arrested for questioning following the murder, Homa Bay has remained restive.

On Sunday, May 11, 2025, Homa Bay County deputy governor Oyugi Magwanga reported that his vehicle was targeted by suspicious people who exchanged gunfire with his security detail just 300 metres away from his home.

Life in danger

Magwanga, who was the Kasipul MP before the late Ong’ondo Were, said that his life was in danger after the incident.

“While on my way back home, I got wind that I was being trailed. Upon receiving this information, I decided to take a detour, which saw me arrive at my home from the opposite side,” the deputy governor said.

“My security detail, however, used the normal route and met with the suspected individuals a few metres from my home. My security detail fired the first shot on seeing the individuals hiding in a thicket, and on firing the second, they took off while exchanging fire with my security,” he revealed.

While the police statement indicated that no spent cartridges were found at the scene of the crime, Magwanga called for additional security, noting that his life was in danger.

He also called for peace following the death of the Kasipul MP. Speaking to the press, Magwanga revealed that his donation of Ksh20,000 towards the funeral had been rejected by the late MP’s funeral committee.