Raila Odinga succession: Why Babu Owino is on a whirlwind tour of Nyanza region

The bid to endear himself to the Nyanza region masses after the death of former prime minister Raila Odinga is the reason why Embakasi East MP Babu Owino is on a tour of the region, The Eastleigh Voice has learnt.

The fiery MP is not taking chances in a contest that is pitting him against big names such as National Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi and his Energy counterpart Opiyo Wandayi. Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga is also positioning herself to be the region's foremost politician.

Babu on Sunday, December 7, 2025, staged a series of high-energy political rallies across three constituencies in Nyanza, drawing large crowds as he delivered an emotive message of hope, resilience and collective awakening.

In his first stop in Nyando Constituency, Babu framed the gathering as a moment for community solidarity and political reawakening.

"We gathered because we believe in something greater than fear," he said.

In his messaging during the tour, he strikes a tone of sympathy for what he termed as people's suffering.

Turn pain into purpose

"The challenges we face are real. Many have felt forgotten, unheard, or left behind. But let this be the moment we turn pain into purpose, frustration into focus, and doubt into determination," Babu stated.

From Nyando, the MP moved to Awasi in Muhoroni Constituency, where he continued rallying supporters around what he described as a national moment for asserting dignity and reclaiming agency.

"There comes a moment in the life of every nation when the people rise, not out of anger, but out of hope. Not because they seek conflict, but because they demand dignity. Today, we stand in such a moment," he stated

His final rally of the day took place in Rarieda Constituency, where the crowd turned out in large numbers as he urged Kenyans not to be discouraged by political headwinds.

"Because the power of a people awakened cannot be silenced. The will of a united community cannot be broken. And the hope of those who believe in a better future cannot be extinguished. This is our moment. This is our voice. This is our future. We must take it," he wrote.

Ripe for the seat

Political analyst Herman Manyora believes Babu is ripe for the seat despite simmering opposition within the Orange Democratic Movement Party.

"Babu Owino automatically succeeds Raila Odinga in the Luo nation, and they will do a lot to stop it. The bigger part of Raila's Luo Nyanza influence has been inherited by Babu Owino, and they will do anything to stop him," said Manyora.

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Babu's candidature for Nairobi County governorship in the 2027 General Election has elicited reactions, making even political formations in the opposition to woo him into their fold.

Former Deputy President and now presidential hopeful Rigathi Gachagua has told ODM Secretary General Edwin Sifuna and Babu that they were free to join his party if they felt dissatisfied within ODM.

Speaking in Nairobi recently while receiving two newly elected DCP MCAs, Gachagua defended his stepped-up mobilisation, saying he was within his rights to promote his party.

"Let nobody make me feel like I am committing any political crime by marketing my party. That is my job," he said.

Welcome to DCP

He told Sifuna and Babu that they were welcome to join DCP or any other party within the United Opposition.

"Edwin Sifuna, if you are chased in ODM, come to DCP. Sifuna is a great senator in Nairobi, and I have no problem with the DCP supporting him to be senator of Nairobi in 2027," he said.

He extended a similar invitation to Babu, saying, "Babu Owino, if you are chased in ODM, come to DCP."

According to political observer Samuel Owida, the Luo political order, deeply intertwined with both spiritual legitimacy and communal endorsement, is not a ladder one ascends through noise and defiance. According to him, Raila himself—after Jaramogi's death—waited seven years before he was symbolically acknowledged as the community's political centre.

"The current vacancy left by Raila's passing is not merely administrative but metaphysical. Oburu Odinga, as the elder brother, and the Luo Council of Elders remain the custodians of the coronation process. To bypass this sacred structure, as Babu seems intent on doing, risks provoking silent rebellion among Luo voters who still see Kingpinship as a mantle, not a medal," said Owida.

In the post-Raila landscape, ODM remains split between pragmatists who want to maintain cooperation with the government and hardliners still loyal to the rhetoric of resistance.