Orengo, Wanga and the thin skin conundrum

 Siaya Governor James Orengo. [Boniface Okendo, Standard]

This week, I am on the shores of Lake Victoria in Homa Bay County to bury my uncle, Dickson Kodede, who served as a Clerk to the council under the former local government system.

Mr Kodede was a good man who touched many lives. He belonged to a rare breed of selfless civic leaders who never robbed the taxpayer of even a dime.

When the defunct Transition Authority led by Kinuthia Mwangi was navigating rough waters to usher the country into devolution without disrupting service delivery in 2013, men like Mr Kodede proved invaluable.

While in the village, however, the political storm ignited by Siaya Governor James Orengo’s alleged sexist attack on his Homa Bay counterpart, Gladys Wanga, dominated conversations. The Siaya governor made several stopovers in Homa Bay last week and turned the local governor into a favourite punching bag.

In his characteristic bravado, Senior Counsel Orengo has, in recent times, gone below the belt in attacks against ODM Linda Ground camp leaders, including Dr Oburu Oginga.

But his jibe has riled Ms Wanga’s allies. Homa Bay Assembly Majority Leader Richard Ogindo claimed during Mr Kodede’s burial that by besmirching Ms Wanga and Dr Oginga, Mr Orengo wants to divide the Luo nation.

Meanwhile, women leaders like MCA Florence Ouma are blunt that ‘using the bedroom to settle political scores’ is unacceptable. Be that as it may, Mr Orengo’s admirers still believe he’s a statesman who speaks his mind.

Critics, however, claim the Siaya county chief is a man who reinvents himself depending on the political winds. Here now, it’s worth re-examining Mr Orengo’s style and exploring why Governor Wanga and other women must develop thicker skin in Kenya’s political arena.

Let’s start with Mr Orengo. When ODM and UDA signed a pact on March 7, 2025, he poured cold water on the arrangement. He warned that joining hands with Kenya Kwanza amounted to boarding a sinking political vessel.

Yet only months later, he openly praised President William Ruto and suggested that Nyanza stood to gain from cooperating with the national government. That sharply contrasted with the defiant rhetoric he had initially deployed against the broad-based arrangement.

Way back during the Ford-Kenya era, Mr Orengo challenged enigma Raila Odinga’s dominance in Luo Nyanza politics, only to later reinvent himself as one of ODM’s fiercest defenders.

Like many veteran politicians, he understands that influence is not always sustained through constant warfare. Sometimes survival depends on knowing when to fight, to retreat, and to embrace former adversaries.

Fast forward to this year, and the Siaya governor, known by supporters as Nyatieng (the hammer), has become a thorn in the flesh of the broad-based arrangement. It means that by blowing hot and cold, Mr Orengo has mastered the art of recalibrating his brand.

He deploys diplomacy and sometimes hard punches, like the attack on Governor Wanga, and more often than not, it works to his political advantage.

Coming to Ms Wanga and other victims of sexist attacks. What should they do to ‘survive’ in the political arena? Before answering that question, we must ask another: Is it possible to make every male politician disciplined and gender-sensitive while on the podium in a country where people have a way of circumventing the law on hate speech, incitement, and the like? The answer is probably no.

Women leaders need a thick skin. A thin skin is a liability. They should not allow demeaning remarks to distract them or permit negative energy from opponents to slow them down.

The political scene will always be unpredictable for women, smooth one moment and rough the next. But ‘negative’ messaging by men should never obscure women’s aspirations or clarity of thought.

In a political culture where yesterday’s enemies often become today’s allies, women leaders must embody resilience and reinvention rather than constantly retreating into political victimhood. No one will give a hoot. Ms Wanga and other victims of sexist attacks should focus and ignore distractions.

-The writer is a communications practitioner