Budalang’i MP Raphael Wanjala speaks during an event /HILTON OTENYOBudalang’i MP Raphael Wanjala has said a political agreement between the Teso and Luhya communities in Busia county to rotate the governorship collapsed in 2017.
Wanjala said the two communities had agreed that a Teso would hold the governor’s seat for 10 years before ceding it to a Luhya, but the pact fell apart after a section of Luhya politicians fronted a candidate to challenge then-Governor Sospeter Ojaamong in the 2017 election.
The move, he added, opened the field to all candidates without reference to their communities.
Ojaamong, who is from the Teso community, served two terms before Paul Otuoma, a Luhya, won the seat in 2022.
It had been expected that Otuoma would have a smooth ride to a second term, but Wanjala said the agreement reached at the introduction of devolution in 2013 had since died a natural death.
“Although I am a Luhya, there is no favour in supporting a fellow Luhya. The agreement died in 2017. We are in the broad-based government,” Wanjala said.
Otuoma, who was elected on an ODM ticket in 2022, is set to faceArthur Osiya, Administrative Secretary in the Office of the President,on a UDA ticket and engineer Vincent Sidai, who is gravitating towards the Linda Mwananchi movement, in the race for a second and final term.
Wanjala was speaking on Sunday during a thanksgiving service at the Anglican Church of Kenya St Thomas Amagoro.
He endorsed Osiya to challenge Otuoma in 2027, urging him to sell his agenda and seek support beyond the Teso region.
Osiya, who was present at the event, urged residents who want President William Ruto reelected and support his gubernatorial bid to acquire national identity cards and register as voters.
“If you want to return Ruto and have me as your governor next year, acquire an identity card and
voter’s card,” Osiya said.
Teso North MP Oku Kaunya urged Ruto to consider appointing more Iteso to senior government positions, particularly Cabinet Secretary and ambassadorial posts.
He argued that some communities, including those from the Mt Kenya region, were more strongly represented in the national government than the Iteso.
“Mt Kenya has eight Cabinet Secretaries in Ruto’s government, yet they are not in the broad-based government,” Kaunya said.
The event was presided over byFelix Koskei,chief of staff and head of public service,and attended by Katakwa Diocese Bishop Vitalis Ekuru.
Others in attendance included Principal Secretaries Boniface Makokha, Beatrice Inyangala and Susan Mang’eni, Kenya Dairy Board CEO William Maritim, EPZ CEO Richard Melu and several MCAs.
Instant analysis
The collapse of the Teso-Luhya governorship pact has reopened an important fault line in Busia politics ahead of the 2027 election. What was once viewed as a community-based rotational arrangement is now being replaced by open competition, with Governor Paul Otuoma facing potential challengers from both UDA and emerging political formations. Raphael Wanjala’s endorsement of Arthur Osiya signals an attempt to consolidate support around a Teso candidate while weakening expectations of an automatic Luhya succession. Osiya’s appeal for voters to obtain IDs and register also points to the importance of voter mobilisation. Meanwhile, calls for greater Iteso representation in government add a national dimension to Busia’s emerging political contest.
