Gakuya defends ODM duo over fiery remarks on Ong’ondo Were’s death
Embakasi North Member of Parliament (MP) James Gakuya has defended Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga and Homa Bay Town MP Peter Kaluma over their remarks against the government following the death of Kasipul MP Charles Ong’ondo Were.
Speaking during an interview with K24’s News Dawn on Monday, May 5, 2025, Gakuya stated that the two ODM politicians were within their rights to demand justice for the slain MP as representatives of the people.
The MP decried the escalation of deaths in the country, referencing the past cases of extrajudicial killings and abductions.
“Losing a member of parliament is quite a serious matter. I do not want to support anyone who is taking it lightly; to lose the life of a member or any citizen is a serious matter,” he stated.
“Nobody should at any time try to defend any commentary made by any citizen to demand for justice. Wanga was demanding justice, and so is Kaluma. That is also what many other Kenyans are asking, and it is quite in order. We are losing youths to extrajudicial killings and abductions. It has now moved to senior citizens like MP. We cannot allow this to happen like it’s a chicken killed,“ he said.
Gakuya further dismissed the calls to quit the party directed at a section of politicians from the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) who seemed to have taken an anti-government stance by publicly criticising the government.
The MP noted that the ODM party leadership, through Raila Odinga, has been categorical that individual party members reserve the right to hold an opinion and express their views.
“As much as ODM is looking at this from a particular angle, they should be united in demanding for justice for that MP. Tomorrow it could be anyone else,” he added.
“I have seen Odinga himself defending the rights of others like Sifuna, Orengo and Anyang’ Nyong’o. Raila had been categorical, saying that every ODM has a right to air their opinion,” he added.
The MP’s remarks come after Wanga and Kaluma on Saturday, May 3, 2025, dared the government over the killing of the MP.
Kaluma, while giving an ultimatum to have the incident conclusively investigated and explained to them, stated that the death could jeorpadise the working agreement between Kenyan Kwanza and ODM.
Wanga, in a fiery speech, posited that while the ODM party agreed to work with Ruto’s government, it never agreed to the targeted assassination of its members.
“Who killed Kasipul MP Charles Were and why? That we want to know, and not in the far future; in the near future. We have said we are working together, but we did not sign up for the assassination of our members,” she said.
A furious Wanga went on to state that the increasing cases of political tensions in Nyanza are aimed at destabilizing ODM’s strongholds.
In a bold declaration, the county chief equally assured that she was ready to defend the party’s presence in the region, insisting that the Nyanza region is an ODM zone and that attempts to dethrone the party will not be tolerated.
“As the national chairman of the ODM party, I also want to make it very clear that Homa Bay County and the entire Nyanza region is an ODM zone. The next time I see people in this region shouting ‘UDA’, we will not agree; we will not accept. It will not happen under my watch as the national chairman of the ODM party. If you want to dare us, bring it on,” Wanga stated.
