The dust kicked up by the Linda Mwananchi convoy in Homa Bay has turned into a fresh political argument, with Governor Gladys Wanga saying the county’s rough roads should not be mistaken for a lack of progress. Wanga responded after Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna criticised the roads encountered by the team during its tour of the county on Sunday.
Sifuna led the Linda Mwananchi team through several parts of Homa Bay, where the convoy was forced to leave the main highway and take an off-road route to reach some rally venues. The group also encountered road blockades and stretches covered with stones as it moved through areas where tensions were high.
The senator later posted a photograph showing himself covered in dust while holding the Kenyan flag.
“Bwana walisema huku Homa Bay ndio kuna shiny things kumbe ni ukora tu. Dust is constant.”
The remarks quickly attracted attention online, with Kenyans reacting to the state of roads in the county and sharing memes about the senator’s experience.
Wanga responded by placing the condition of the roads within what she described as a much longer history of limited infrastructure development in Homa Bay.
In a statement titled “Beyond the Dust: Homa Bay's Long Road from Marginalisation to Transformation,” the governor said the condition of the Mbita–Sindo–Kiabuya–Sori corridor should not be used to judge the people of the county.
“The dust on the Mbita–Sindo–Kiabuya–Sori corridor tells a story. But it is not the story of a people who have failed. It is the story of a region that has waited far too long for the infrastructure required to unlock its potential,” Wanga said.
She said residents living along the affected roads face the consequences every day, including difficulties reaching markets and services, higher costs of doing business and slower development in their communities.
“For the people who live along these roads, however, their condition is no joke; it is a daily reality that shapes access to markets and services, the cost of doing business, and the pace at which communities can develop,” she said.
Wanga said the infrastructure problems in Homa Bay did not begin with the current administration, pointing to successive governments since independence as part of the county’s long history of underdevelopment.
She mentioned the administrations of Jomo Kenyatta, Daniel Arap Moi, Mwai Kibaki and Uhuru Kenyatta while explaining the history of roads in the region.
The governor singled out the 74-kilometre Mbita road, saying it had been awarded in 2016 under the Uhuru Kenyatta administration but stalled after the required funds were not allocated.
Only seven kilometres of the road had been completed before the project was re-awarded in 2020. Wanga said the second phase also failed to make the expected progress.
She said work had since resumed, with more sections now receiving attention.
“In the last two years, 28km have so far been tarmacked, with works currently ongoing,” Wanga said.
According to the governor, major routes such as the Mbita corridor require national government funding because they cannot be adequately handled using county resources or Constituency Development Fund allocations.
Wanga also used the debate to defend the role of devolution in changing how development resources are shared across the country.
She said counties such as Homa Bay had gained greater control over their priorities and a larger voice in deciding how resources should be used.
“It is devolution, championed for decades by leaders including Raila Odinga, that has begun to give counties like Homa Bay a say over their own development and a share of resources once concentrated at the centre. We are not embarrassed by that history,” she said.
The governor also referred to the region’s political history, citing the deaths of former Cabinet minister Tom Mboya and former Vice President Jaramogi Oginga Odinga.
She argued that the absence of the two leaders from government had affected the region’s development path over the years.
Wanga also brought up Raila Odinga’s political journey, saying many people in the region had believed that his election as president would have resulted in more infrastructure development for Homa Bay.
However, she said the county should now pay attention to projects currently being carried out rather than allowing its past challenges to define its future.
Wanga listed a number of roads she said had either been completed or were under construction since 2024 under President William Ruto’s administration.
They include the Mbita–Sindo–Kiabuya–Sori corridor and roads across Suba South, alongside the Lala–Ruga, Nyalkinyi–Imbo, Gor Mahia Ring Road, Rangwe–Oboke, Rangwe–Ndiru and Kadel–Kanyadhiang–Kilusi–Opanga–Ramba roads.
She also named Kadongo–Lida, Adiedo–No. Karabok, Agolo Muok–Seka–Otati, Lwanda–Osodo–Kanyakiamo, Nyabera–Corner Koguta, Njeri–Pala and the Sindo Town road network.
Beyond the roads, the governor pointed to other projects in the county, including the Homa Bay Pier, Modern Fish Market, Raila Odinga Stadium, Economic Stimulus Programme markets, Rusinga Road and Mfangano Ring Road.
Wanga asked residents not to let the argument over Sifuna’s remarks overshadow the development work taking place across Homa Bay.
She accepted that the road conditions remained a problem but maintained that efforts were being made to change the situation.
“The dust is real. The historical deficit is real. But so is the transformation now underway. Beyond the dust lies the Homa Bay we have always deserved,” Wanga said