By Kepher Otieno - Reporter
Kenya, 10 August 2026 - Former Kisumu governor Jack Ranguma has returned to active politics, declaring that he is “nobody’s project” as he seeks to reclaim the county’s top seat in a potentially bruising 2027 contest.
Ranguma is presenting his comeback as a return to familiar ground, but with “new vigour” and a promise to serve Kisumu better than he did during his first term.
He made the declaration as he officially launched his political comeback before a gathering of supporters, religious leaders and other allies.
“I am reverting to a path I know very well,” Ranguma said.
He also asked God to give him wisdom to lead the people, saying integrity, humility and sound judgement would be critical if he returned to office.
Ranguma, who served as governor from 2013 to 2017, is seeking to make his previous record the foundation of his comeback.
“My tenure was cut short not because we didn’t perform. But because of the political expediency at the time,” he said.
He claimed his administration left about Sh800 million in the county coffers when he left office, money he said could have helped settle some of the county’s substantial pending bills.
That claim is likely to become one of the issues requiring scrutiny as the campaign develops.
Ranguma says his administration implemented 157 projects across the county and constructed 522 kilometres of roads.
He argues that some of those roads have since fallen into disrepair.
“Today, they are in a deplorable state. Some are dilapidated. Because of politics they are now trying to fix a few,” he said.
Health is another pillar of his defence of his record.
“I built 95 dispensaries by the time I left in 2017,” Ranguma said.
He said his administration equipped health facilities with medicines and strengthened Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital, which he described as the region’s largest referral hospital.
He also pointed to a Governor’s Scholarship Programme that he said benefited 280 students, as well as a school feeding programme for early childhood education centres.
Ranguma said the feeding programme helped reduce absenteeism among young learners.
Flood management was another area he highlighted.
He said his administration targeted desilting and excavation of river banks to contain flooding, while water insecurity was tackled through boreholes and expansion of Kisumu Water and Sewerage Company supplies.
He said he had also negotiated a more ambitious plan to source water from River Yala.
“Kiswaco pumping is expensive,” he said, explaining that his proposal was to draw water from River Yala, move it to higher ground and develop a system capable of supplying Kisumu and neighbouring areas.
His record in the boda boda sector also features prominently in his narrative. He aims to revamp water supplies make it affordable, focus on rehabilitation and opening of many feeder roads access to the farms, promote active rice farming, improve staff welfare, reduce contractors debts, initiate more tangible projects.
" I salute governor Prof Anyang Nyong'o. I handed over to him. Where he has reached I say thank you. But now I want to reclaim the position to carry on from where he has left and do it better," Ranguma told hundreds of supporters at Kisumu Sunset Hotel, while launching his bid. He had served for one term in the year 2013 and he was the inaugural governor.
Ranguma said his administration took motorcycle operators to Rwanda to study how the sector could be diversified and linked to other forms of transport and enterprise.
The objective, he said, was to help riders generate additional sources of income rather than depend entirely on motorcycle transport.
But Ranguma is not returning to an empty political field.
He faces a formidable group of aspirants who have already indicated interest in succeeding Governor Prof Anyang’ Nyong’o.
Among them are Kisumu Central MP Dr Joshua Oron, Deputy Governor Dr Mathews Owili, Kisumu Woman Representative Ruth Odinga, Kisumu West MP Rosa Buyu and Nyakach MP Aduma Owuor.
Each brings a different political network, constituency base and campaign proposition.
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The crowded field means the race could become less about personalities and more about coalitions.
The candidates will have to demonstrate who can consolidate Kisumu’s increasingly competitive political blocs while offering credible answers to the county’s persistent problems.
For Ranguma, his experience in the governor’s office gives him an obvious advantage.
But it also creates a burden.
Voters can compare his past performance with the record of the Nyong’o administration and the promises being made by the new generation of contenders.
Nyong’o is serving his second and final term, making the 2027 succession battle particularly consequential.
Ranguma says the people should make the judgement.
“For the two terms Prof Anyang’ Nyong’o has served, it is upon the people to decide,” he said.
His political positioning is also significant.
Ranguma says he supports the Broad-Based Government, while insisting that his political return is not being sponsored by another political faction.
“I am nobody’s project,” he said.
That message could allow him to navigate the shifting political alliances ahead of 2027 without being trapped within one camp.
Ranguma currently serves as chairman of the Savings and Credit Cooperative Societies Regulatory Authority, giving him a national institutional platform and continued exposure to questions of financial management and cooperative development.
He says he is returning with greater experience and renewed energy.
He has urged aspirants and supporters to prepare for a competitive contest while promising to serve with integrity and humility if elected.
His launch, attended by clergy and a sizeable group of supporters, was designed to demonstrate that the comeback is more than a declaration of interest.
It is an attempt to rebuild a political movement.
Yet the road to the governor’s office is considerably more crowded than when Ranguma first ran.
Oron brings parliamentary visibility and a younger political profile. Owili has served as Nyong’o’s deputy and understands the county administration from inside. Ruth Odinga carries a powerful political family name and longstanding networks in Nyanza. Buyu brings parliamentary experience and a growing profile, while Aduma Owuor has his own Nyakach base.
The contest could therefore become a battle between experience, continuity, generational change, political networks and competing visions for Kisumu.
Ranguma wants voters to look backwards before they look forward.
His message is that the projects of his first administration should be measured, not forgotten.
His opponents will almost certainly argue that Kisumu has changed and that the county needs new solutions rather than a return to the past.
That makes Ranguma’s comeback one of the most intriguing developments in the emerging Kisumu succession contest.
He has returned with a record to defend, grievances to settle and a political establishment to challenge.
And he says he is ready.
The race for Kisumu governor has just become considerably more interesting.