Governor Barasa Urges President Ruto to Sack CS Oparanya
Kakamega Governor Fernandes Barasa has called on President William Ruto and Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party leader Raila Odinga to intervene and restrain Cooperative Cabinet Secretary Wycliffe Oparanya from interfering with local politics.
Barasa went further to suggest that if Oparanya cannot keep away from county and party wrangles, then the president should consider removing him from the cabinet altogether.
Speaking during a church service on Sunday, September 14, Governor Barasa accused CS Oparanya of using local leaders, particularly Members of Parliament from Kakamega, to relay his dissatisfaction with his current cabinet portfolio.
According to the governor, the CS has been quietly expressing a desire to move to the Treasury docket, something Barasa argued was causing unnecessary confusion in the region.
Barasa emphasized that the CS should focus on serving the nation in his current role instead of creating divisions at the county and party level. He insisted that President Ruto has the authority to fire the CS if he continues to fail in delivering his duties.
“This CS thinks that every day he can come here and disturb us with politics. We are tired, and we now want to urge the president to remove this burden. If he cannot concentrate on his work, then there is no point in sitting in a position that was supposed to unite us but is instead being used to divide us,” Barasa remarked.
The governor further claimed that Oparanya’s behavior had not only embarrassed himself but had also triggered political tensions within Kakamega County and the ODM party.
Barasa reminded the CS that he was given the post under the Broad-Based Government initiative to unite the Western Region, yet he now seems more interested in lobbying for a different position.
“You were handed a national job meant to bring unity to the entire Western Region. But instead of fulfilling that duty, you are busy sending MPs to whisper to the president that you want the Treasury docket. This is wrong and it is creating confusion,” the governor said.
Barasa also urged President Ruto to summon the CS and warn him against interfering in Kakamega’s local politics, which he argued was causing unnecessary embarrassment for the region.
CS Oparanya, who was appointed on August 8, 2024, as the Cabinet Secretary for Cooperatives and Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises following the cabinet reshuffle after the anti-government protests, has recently been at the center of controversy in Kakamega’s ODM leadership disputes.
On Saturday, September 13, Oparanya spoke in Kakamega where he criticized the ongoing wrangles over ODM’s county leadership. He warned that the internal divisions were damaging the party’s reputation and could weaken ODM ahead of the 2027 General Elections.
The CS reaffirmed his loyalty to the party, explaining that while he stepped aside from ODM leadership to focus on his national role, he has not abandoned the movement.
However, he strongly opposed the recent election of Kakamega Chief as the county ODM chair, arguing that the process was irregular and went against established party procedures.
“I only left the ODM leadership because I wanted to rest a little, but I am still a committed member of the party. According to the law, you cannot be both a Cabinet Secretary and an ODM official,” Oparanya clarified.
He added that ODM has been in existence since 2005 and has always followed strict election procedures. In his view, the manner in which the county elections were conducted was flawed and set a dangerous precedent.
“I know ODM’s history very well. Since its formation, I have never witnessed an election where leaders gather just to pick one person the way it was done here. What happened in Kakamega was uncalled for, and it has never been done anywhere else in the party,” he insisted.
Oparanya’s remarks, combined with Barasa’s harsh criticism, have exposed the growing cracks within ODM’s Kakamega branch, raising questions about whether the party can maintain unity in the Western Region as the 2027 elections draw closer.
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