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Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga has pushed back forcefully against online mockery comparing her county’s crumbling roads to war-ravaged Yemen, insisting the criticism ignores decades of political marginalisation.
Speaking on Sunday during a fundraiser at Wikondiek SDA Church in Karachuonyo, Wanga said Homa Bay’s poor infrastructure was a direct consequence of the region’s role in Kenya’s reform struggles.
She argued that residents paid a political price for backing the fight for a new constitution, devolution and expanded human rights, and that successive national governments punished the county with neglect despite consistent voter turnout at the polls.
The remarks came a day after rival youth factions blocked major roads across the county using stones and burning tyres, paralysing traffic on routes including Homa Bay-Rongo Road, Nyandiwa, Sindo, Oyugis near Kendu Junction and the Homa Bay town centre.
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The disruption forced the visiting Linda Mwananchi convoy to divert through back roads, and images of the chaos quickly went viral, fuelling comparisons to a conflict zone.
Wanga said the tide is turning now that Homa Bay sits within the broad-based government arrangement linking ODM and President William Ruto’s administration. She pointed specifically to the mocked stretch of road, revealing it falls under the Lake Victoria Ring Road project already lined up for tarmacking.
Defending her administration’s record, the governor cited figures from her most recent State of the County Address, noting her government has opened 736 kilometres of new roads, carried out periodic maintenance on 538 kilometres of existing network, and rehabilitated 116 kilometres of access roads serving schools, health facilities, markets and beach landing sites.
Wanga urged critics to consider the county’s history before passing judgment on its current infrastructure gaps.
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