Kakamega Governor Fernandes Barasa has urged President William Ruto and ODM leader Raila Odinga to restrain Cooperatives Cabinet Secretary Wycliffe Oparanya from engaging in county and party politics, warning that failure to do so should lead to his dismissal.
Speaking during a church service on Sunday, September 14, Barasa accused Oparanya of using Members of Parliament allied to him to express dissatisfaction with his Cabinet position. The governor maintained that the CS should focus on serving the nation instead of destabilizing local politics.
“This CS thinks that every day he will be coming here to disturb us. We are tired now, and we want to urge the President to remove this burden. If he cannot work, there is no need to occupy a seat meant to unite us only to divide us,” Barasa said.
He further claimed that Oparanya has embarrassed himself and caused unnecessary political tension within Kakamega and the ODM party. “You were given a job through the broad-based government so you may unite the Western region, but instead you are sending MPs to say you want to be Treasury CS,” Barasa alleged.
Oparanya, appointed to the Cooperatives docket in August 2024 during a Cabinet reshuffle, has recently been vocal about ODM’s internal wrangles. On Saturday, September 13, he faulted the election of the Kakamega ODM chair, terming the process irregular and in violation of party protocols.
“I only left ODM leadership because I wanted to rest, but I am still a member. According to the law, you cannot be a CS and an ODM official,” Oparanya said, reiterating his loyalty to the party while cautioning that divisive local politics could weaken ODM ahead of the 2027 elections.
