It is worth noting that he had never planned to end his political career after finishing his two terms as a county boss
Former Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Ambetsa Oparanya is an example of how tides turn unexpectedly, after being nominated to President William Ruto’s Cabinet. If confirmed, he will be tasked with running the Ministry of Cooperatives and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
However, it is worth noting that he had never planned to end his political career after finishing his two terms as a county boss, revealing on February 6, 2023, that he held ambitions to become a Cabinet Secretary in the government formed by Azimio la Umoja leader Raila Odinga, if the coalition defeated President Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza in the August 9, 2022 general elections.
Oparanya has been in politics since 2002 when he was elected the MP for Butere Constituency. He was then elected for a second term in the same position in the 2007 general elections under the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) ticket.
He was appointed Minister of State for Planning, National Development and Vision 2030, under the grand coalition government of the late Mwai Kibaki in 2008.
In 2013, Oparanya vied for Governor of Kakamega with ODM and won. He successfully defended the seat again in 2017 with the same party and retired in 2022.
From Left: Esther Nyonje during an interview with former Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya on Monday, February 6, 2023. /YOUTUBE.ESTHER NYONJE
“I became the governor from 2013 up to the last general election. I served my mandatory two terms as a governor, and obviously, I could not stand to defend my seat as required by the Constitution as we have a two-term limit,” Oparanya told Esther Nyonje, a political risk analyst, during an interview on her show on her YouTube channel in 2023.
“However, my ambition was not to end there. As you know very well I supported Azimio. I was part of the Azimio team in the last election but unfortunately, you know what happened. In that Azimio government, I was supposed to be the Minister in charge of the Treasury. That is now under the bridge.”
Two years later, he would get his wish however through his political rivals and under a different docket, in charge of the Cooperatives docket. In his opinion, one does not retire from politics, adding that he remained rooted in the Azimio coalition, a matter that might now change should he be confirmed by the National Assembly.
Oparanya is now 68 years old, and he acknowledged that had he been a civil servant, he ought to have retired by now. He bragged about his perfect record in polls, that is no defeat in any election in 23 years as a politician.
“Since I was not vying for any seat (in the 2022 general elections), I knew that if I didn’t get any appointment in the Azimio government then obviously I was going to prepare for retirement. But as you know, in politics you can’t retire. We are still there and you know that I am still part of the Azimio team,” Oparanya said.
Oparanya said since his tenure as a governor came to an end, he had the realization that there were several personal issues he had failed to deal with while in politics, a matter he expressed that he would have fixed in the next four to five years.
“For the next four or five years to come, I will actually be doing my own things to make sure that as I retire my own things are in order,” Oparanya added.
Winding the tape forward, Oparanya was nominated on July 24, 2024, by President Ruto, among four Raila allies picked in the Head of State’s bid to create a government of national unity following the dissolution of his entire cabinet.
Oparanya is yet to comment on the President’s nomination while some of Raila’s allies have welcomed the nominations. Other Raila allies nominated are former Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho (Mining, Blue Economy), Nominated MP John Mbadi (National Treasury) and Ugunja MP Opiyo Wandayi (Energy and Petroleum).
The former Kakamega boss is set to oversee the Hustler Fund in his docket, a flagship loan kitty which he has in the past sharply criticised, not once, but more than twice!
