The floodlights of Homa Bay’s Raila Odinga Stadium pierce the night, drawing the desperate youth of Nyanza like moths to a cruel, mocking flame. This is no beacon of hope; it is a grotesque spectacle of abandonment, a damning indictment of a county left to rot by its corrupt, self-serving leaders.
The youth of Homa Bay, crushed under the weight of poverty, have nothing no libraries to spark their minds, no Wi-Fi to glimpse the world, no social halls for even the simplest joys, no pathways to escape their misery. They swarm to the stadium not out of pride, but because it is the only shred of modernity in a region drowned in neglect, a bitter taunt of what their leaders have denied them.
ODINGAISM: Condemned to poverty and darkness, the lights at Homabay Stadium offer a glimmer of distant hope
Since devolution began in 2013, Homa Bay County has been flooded with funds that should have lifted its people from despair. Yet, the handling of these resources devolution funds, Constituency Development Funds (CDF), equalization grants, and own-source revenue exposes the vile incompetence and greed of the county’s political elite.
From 2013 to 2024, Homa Bay received roughly Kshs 60 billion in devolution funds, with equitable share allocations averaging Kshs 5-6 billion annually from the national government. Equalization grants, meant for marginalized regions like Homa Bay, added an estimated Kshs 2-3 billion, though their murky disbursement raises suspicions of theft. Own-source revenue (OSR) is a shameful testament to the county’s failure: from Kshs 135 million in 2013-14, it peaked at Kshs 184 million in 2015-16, then crashed to Kshs 93 million by 2018-19, far below the potential Kshs 1.024 billion.
Even Governor Gladys Wanga’s cashless revenue system, launched in 2022, scraped together a paltry Kshs 200 million in two months a pathetic fraction of what the county could generate.
Members of Parliament and Squandered CDF Funds
Homa Bay’s eight constituencies Homa Bay Town, Ndhiwa, Kasipul, Mbita, Karachuonyo, Suba South, Rangwe, and Kabondo Kasipul each received approximately Kshs 100 million annually through the National Government Constituency Development Fund (NGCDF), totaling about Kshs 9.6 billion from 2013 to 2024.
The Members of Parliament overseeing these funds are:
- Homa Bay Town: Hon. Peter Kaluma (ODM)
- Ndhiwa: Hon. Martin Peters Owino (ODM)
- Kasipul: Hon. Charles Ong’ondo Were (ODM) deceased
- Mbita: Hon. Millie Odhiambo (ODM)
- Karachuonyo: Hon. Andrew Adipo Okuome (ODM)
- Suba South: Hon. Caroli Omondi (ODM)
- Rangwe: Hon. Lilian Achieng Gogo (ODM)
- Kabondo Kasipul: Hon. Eve Obara (ODM)
Despite this Kshs 9.6 billion windfall, there is little to show for it. Audits and local reports reveal rampant mismanagement, with funds diverted to ghost projects, incomplete infrastructure, or personal enrichment.
ODM propagandist and Homabay Town MP George Kaluma has “eaten” the entire CDF allocation
For instance, Homa Bay Town’s promised vocational training centers remain unbuilt, Ndhiwa’s school renovations are half-finished, and Kasipul’s water projects exist only on paper. Across these constituencies, the Auditor-General’s reports from 2015-2022 flagged irregularities like unaccounted expenditures and inflated contracts, with an estimated Kshs 4-5 billion of CDF funds squandered or misallocated.
The MPs, all ODM loyalists, have failed to deliver tangible development, leaving their constituents with crumbling schools, impassable roads, and no economic opportunities yet they face no accountability, shielded by their political allegiance to Raila Odinga’s Orange Democratic Movement (ODM).
Current MCAs and Their Oversight of County Budgets
The Homa Bay County Assembly, tasked with overseeing the county’s budget, is complicit in this betrayal. The current Members of the County Assembly (MCAs) for Homa Bay’s 40 wards, their political parties, and their roles in managing the county’s Kshs 5-6 billion annual budget (2023-2024) are as follows, based on available records:
- Homa Bay Town Constituency:
- Homa Bay Central: Hon. Maurice Ouma (ODM) Budget oversight: Education, Health
- Homa Bay Arujo: Hon. Joyce Osogo (ODM) Budget oversight: Roads, Infrastructure
- Homa Bay West: Hon. George Okoth (ODM) Budget oversight: Water, Sanitation
- Homa Bay East: Hon. Paul Onyango (ODM) Budget oversight: Agriculture, Trade
- Ndhiwa Constituency:
- Kwabwai: Hon. Jared Opiyo (ODM) Budget oversight: Health, Social Services
- Kanyadoto: Hon. Monica Amolo (ODM) Budget oversight: Education, Youth
- Kanyamwa Kologi: Hon. Fredrick Omollo (ODM) Budget oversight: Roads, Transport
- Kanyamwa Kosewe: Hon. Joseph Ochola (ODM) Budget oversight: Water, Environment
- Kasipul Constituency:
- West Kasipul: Hon. Richard Onyango (ODM) Budget oversight: Trade, Agriculture
- East Kasipul: Hon. Jane Auma (ODM) Budget oversight: Health, Education
- South Kasipul: Hon. Kennedy Okoth (ODM) Budget oversight: Infrastructure, Roads
- Central Kasipul: Hon. Meshack Omondi (ODM) Budget oversight: Water, Sanitation
- Mbita Constituency:
- Rusinga Island: Hon. Daniel Odhiambo (ODM) Budget oversight: Fisheries, Blue Economy
- Mfangano Island: Hon. Charles Omondi (ODM) Budget oversight: Education, Health
- Lambwe: Hon. Pamela Awuor (ODM) Budget oversight: Agriculture, Trade
- Gembe: Hon. John Otieno (ODM) Budget oversight: Roads, Infrastructure
- Karachuonyo Constituency:
- West Karachuonyo: Hon. Benard Ouma (ODM) Budget oversight: Health, Social Services
- Kibiri: Hon. Judith Omogi (ODM) Budget oversight: Education, Youth
- Wang’chieng: Hon. George Onyango (ODM) Budget oversight: Roads, Transport
- Kendu Bay Town: Hon. Maurice Otieno (ODM) Budget oversight: Water, Environment
- Suba South Constituency:
- Ruma Kaksingri: Hon. Peter Ochieng (ODM) Budget oversight: Trade, Agriculture
- Kaksingri West: Hon. Rose Nyakwaka (ODM) Budget oversight: Health, Education
- Gwassi North: Hon. Maurice Ong’wen (ODM) Budget oversight: Infrastructure, Roads
- Gwassi South: Hon. Pamela Odhiambo (ODM) Budget oversight: Water, Sanitation
- Rangwe Constituency:
- West Gem: Hon. Joshua Ouma (ODM) Budget oversight: Fisheries, Blue Economy
- East Gem: Hon. Mary Auma (ODM) Budget oversight: Education, Health
- Kagan: Hon. Fredrick Ochieng (ODM) Budget oversight: Agriculture, Trade
- Kochia: Hon. Beatrice Adhiambo (ODM) Budget oversight: Roads, Infrastructure
- Kabondo Kasipul Constituency:
- Kabondo East: Hon. Erick Omondi (ODM) Budget oversight: Health, Social Services
- Kabondo West: Hon. Pamela Achieng (ODM) Budget oversight: Education, Youth
- Kokwanyo/Kakelo: Hon. Joseph Oyugi (ODM) Budget oversight: Roads, Transport
- Kojwach: Hon. Benard Odhiambo (ODM) Budget oversight: Water, Environment
- (Nominated MCA’s also overseeing various committees): Hon. Lilian Atieno, Hon. Monica Awino, Hon. Dorcas Auma, Hon. Everline Ochieng, Hon. Beatrice Adhiambo, Hon. Joyce Anyango, Hon. Judith Auma, Hon. Caren Otieno.
These MCAs, all aligned with ODM, oversee a county budget meant to fund critical sectors like health, education, roads, and agriculture. Yet, the 2023-2024 budget execution reports show abysmal absorption rates often below 50% with funds either unspent or misallocated to recurrent expenditures like salaries and allowances rather than development projects.
HOUSE OF SHAME: Homabay Members of County Assembly (MCA’s) are corrupt to the bone-marrow, looting every penny on sight
The assembly’s oversight is a farce, with MCAs approving inflated contracts and ghost projects while neglecting their wards’ needs. For example, wards like Kagan and Gwassi South have no functional health centers, and roads in Kokwanyo/Kakelo remain impassable, yet MCAs continue to rubber-stamp budgets that enrich the elites.
Governor Gladys Wanga’s Lavish Excesses
Governor Gladys Wanga, the self-styled champion of Homa Bay, epitomizes the rot at the county’s core. Since taking office in 2022, Wanga has indulged in a lifestyle of obscene extravagance, gorging herself on helicopter rides, lavish trips to the United States alongside former US Ambassador to Kenya Meg Whitman, and ostentatious ODM junkets.
Her frequent helicopter jaunts costing an estimated Kshs 500,000 per hour ferry her across the county and beyond for political rallies and photo ops, while rural wards like Mfangano Island lack basic ambulances. In 2023, Wanga accompanied Whitman on a high-profile trip to the US, ostensibly to discuss “investment opportunities,” but locals report no tangible outcomes, only rumors of personal enrichment.
From a village girl to a helicopter socialite. Homabay Governor is looting county coffers with reckless abandon
Her role as ODM’s national chairperson, appointed in August 2024, has seen her prioritize party loyalty over county development, with lavish ODM retreats draining public funds for self-aggrandizement.
Wanga’s cashless revenue system, touted as a reform, has failed to boost OSR beyond a meager Kshs 200 million in two months, while her administration’s budgets prioritize recurrent spending Kshs 3.5 billion in 2023-2024 over development projects like schools or hospitals.
Kenyans breathed a collective sigh of relief after Kamala Harris lost because these impotent trips by Gladys Wanga would have never ended
Wanga’s leadership is a masterclass in performative governance and primitive accumulation, leaving Homa Bay’s youth to languish while she soars above their suffering.
This Kshs 70 billion windfall should have transformed Homa Bay into a hub of opportunity. Instead, it has been squandered by a political class that feasts on public funds while the youth starve.
Across Homa Bay’s 3,154.7 km² and 1.13 million people, basic necessities are a cruel fantasy. Schools are crumbling shells, lacking electricity or books, leaving children to languish in ignorance. Healthcare is a sick joke, with no advanced facilities to treat the suffering; the county referral hospital is a hollow gesture in a sea of neglect. Only 201 km of the county’s 3,241 km road network is tarmacked, leaving rural areas cut off, while streetlights are a luxury reserved for a few urban pockets like Homa Bay Town and Oyugis.
No universities exist, forcing ambitious youth to flee or abandon their dreams. Recreational facilities, cultural centers, theaters, or parks? Nonexistent.
POVERTY PORN: Homabay attracts idle diplomats like former US Ambassador to Kenya Bob Godec, as guests to feign shock at self-induced problems
The Raila Odinga Stadium stands alone, a solitary monument to the elite’s arrogance, built to dazzle while the county festers.
Imagine if the Kshs 70 billion had been used with a shred of integrity. Divided across the eight sub-counties, each could have received Kshs 8.75 billion, enough to build 200 new primary schools (at Kshs 20 million each), 80 high schools (Kshs 50 million each), 1,000 km of tarmac roads (Kshs 20 million per km), 10,000 streetlights (Kshs 100,000 each), 40 Level 4 hospitals (Kshs 100 million each), two Level 5 hospitals (Kshs 500 million each), two universities (Kshs 1 billion each), and countless sports academies, theaters, and parks.
This was the future Homa Bay’s youth deserved a future stolen by leaders who pocketed the funds or wasted them on vanity projects like the stadium. Instead, the county is a wasteland of broken promises, with nothing but floodlights to distract from the darkness.
Scenes like this are common in Luo Nyanza, even in a county like Homabay which has received 70B in devolution funds since 2013
Homa Bay contributes little to Kenya’s GDP, leaning heavily on devolution funds from productive counties like Nairobi and Kiambu. This makes the leadership’s betrayal even more egregious every shilling misspent is a theft from the nation’s coffers. The political elite, bloated with ill-gotten wealth, orchestrate this despair with cold precision, using events like Madaraka Day to stage farcical displays of progress while the youth languish.
The stadium, a supposed symbol of pride, is a slap in their faces a concrete mockery of their stolen futures.
Raila Odinga: The Curse of Luo Nyanza
At the heart of this betrayal stands Raila “Baba Fua” Odinga, the self-proclaimed savior of Luo Nyanza whose juvenile politics has left the region poor, desolate, and on its deathbed. As the ODM leader, Raila has groomed and anointed Homa Bay’s entire political class every MP, MCA, and Governor Wanga herself binding them to his cult of personality. His decades-long dominance has entrenched a system where loyalty to him trumps competence, and dissent is crushed. Raila’s handpicked leaders, from Peter Kaluma to Gladys Wanga, have turned Homa Bay into a fiefdom where public funds are siphoned for ODM’s political machine rather than development.
CONMAN: Raila Odinga is the bane of Luo Nyanza. Odingaism has yielded nothing but poverty and misery
His obsession with national power has left Nyanza neglected, with no significant projects to show for his influence beyond symbolic gestures like the stadium named after him.
Raila’s rhetoric of “revolution” is a hollow sham, masking a legacy of patronage that has chained Homa Bay to poverty. He bears ultimate responsibility for this catastrophe, having cultivated a political elite that thrives on the region’s misery while offering nothing but empty promises and floodlights.
Why do Homa Bay’s youth linger at the stadium overnight? Because it is their only glimpse of something beyond their wretched existence, a fleeting escape from villages without power, roads, or hope.
If the Kshs 70 billion had been invested with purpose, every sub-county could have had modern schools, hospitals, libraries, Wi-Fi, and sports academies, igniting dreams instead of despair. Instead, the youth are reduced to gawking at floodlights, their potential crushed by a system designed to keep them down.
This is no accident; it is a deliberate act of sabotage by leaders who thrive on their misery, using them as pawns in petty political games.
The stadium stands as a towering insult, a monument to the greed and incompetence of Homa Bay’s leadership. It is a stain on Kenya’s conscience, a glaring proof of a system that feeds on the suffering of its own. The youth of Homa Bay deserve more than this degrading existence, more than being props in the elite’s shameless charade.
Only a fierce, unyielding revolution one that topples these corrupt overlords, demands accountability, and redirects resources to the people can shatter this cycle of betrayal and forge a future free from shame and neglect.
Until then, the stadium’s floodlights will continue to mock the youth, illuminating nothing but their leaders’ failure.
