Kisumu — Thousands of women from informal settlements across Kisumu on Tuesday poured into the city centre in a dramatic protest against what they described as attempts by Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga to undermine Interior Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo.
The women, who marched from estates including Kaloleni, Nyalenda, Manyatta and Obunga, carried placards condemning the governor and demanding that she "leave PS Omollo alone."
Traffic along Oginga Odinga Street and Angawa Avenue was briefly disrupted as the procession made its way toward the bus terminus.
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At the heart of the dispute is the recent Kasipul by-election, where simmering political undercurrents have escalated into open confrontation.
Sources in the region say Governor Wanga has accused PS Omollo and his allies of quietly backing independent candidate Philip Aroko.
ODM's Boyd Were eventually won the contest, but the fallout continues to grow.
Wanga, who also serves as ODM's national chairperson, has insisted that the seat was firmly an ODM affair and that government operatives aligned with UDA should not interfere in party matters.
Critics, however, say her stance is an attempt to isolate leaders perceived to be leaning toward the national government's broad-based agenda.
But on the streets of Kisumu, the protesting women dismissed the governor's position as political intimidation.
"PS Omollo has stood with the lowly and the downtrodden in our communities. Any attempt to convince President Ruto to remove him from the Interior docket must be rejected," said Halina Said from Kaloleni, addressing the crowd.
Said added that many widows in Kisumu, Siaya, Migori and Homa Bay have benefited from housing projects and community support initiatives linked to the PS.
"We will stand with the PS. Let Governor Wanga stop dragging him into unnecessary politics," she added.
Another demonstrator, Sarah Opiyo, said they were firmly behind President William Ruto's two-term movement and warned that efforts to intimidate senior civil servants who support grassroots empowerment would backfire.
"We have received empowerment through PS Omollo -- from school fees for our children in TVETs to programmes helping young people acquire tuk-tuks and motorcycles. Leaders driven by selfish interests are fighting him because he has risen in the Luo community as someone who helps ordinary people," Opiyo said.
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The protest came just a day after Governor Wanga stripped her deputy, Oyugi Magwanga, of the agriculture portfolio -- a move widely interpreted as punishment for allegedly supporting Aroko during the Kasipul by-election.
County insiders say the decision has deepened divisions within Homa Bay's leadership.
Political observers note that Wanga is tightening her grip in Nyanza as ODM chair, moving swiftly against what she perceives as internal dissent.
Her critics, however, accuse her of using party loyalty to settle political scores.
