Office Of The Governor

Her Excellency Gladys Nyasuna Wanga, CBS, EGH is the Governor of Homa Bay County and a trailblazing figure in Kenyan public life. Inaugurated on 25 August 2022, she made history as the first woman elected Governor of Homa Bay County, the first female governor from the Western Region of Kenya, and one of only seven women elected to gubernatorial office in the 2022 General Election. A lifelong public servant shaped by both personal resilience and a deep commitment to community, Governor Wanga has built a distinguished career defined by a remarkable string of firsts. This legacy speaks not only to her individual tenacity, but to her enduring belief in breaking barriers for those who follow. Born on 7 March 1981 in the Wang'aya estate of Kisumu County, Gladys Wanga was the firstborn of seven children to John Nyasuna — a long-serving councillor and chairperson of the Kisumu County Council — and Grace Olum, a hardworking entrepreneur. Growing up in a politically engaged household, she was introduced to the rhythms of civic life at a young age, accompanying her father on campaign trails and absorbing the values of service and accountability that would define her own path. At Kisumu Girls' High School, Wanga served as Head Girl and developed a reputation for standing up for fellow students — an early expression of the social justice convictions that have defined her career. At Kenyatta University, she became the first female Secretary-General of the Students' Union in 2003, the opening chapter of a career built on pioneering firsts. Before entering elected office, Governor Wanga built a solid foundation in public health and programme management over a decade of service. She worked as a Programme Officer and subsequently Programme Manager at Liverpool VCT, Care and Treatment (LVCT Health), a leading NGO delivering HIV prevention, care and treatment services across Kenya. She also served in a programme management capacity at the Trust for African Rock Art. This grounding in health systems, community outreach, and large-scale programme coordination equipped her with practical expertise that continues to inform her approach to governance. Governor Wanga's political journey began formally in 2013 when she contested — and won — the inaugural Woman Representative seat for Homa Bay County on an Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) ticket, becoming the first woman to hold this office in the county. Her performance in Parliament was so widely respected that she was returned unopposed in the 2017 General Election, a remarkable achievement in a fiercely competitive political landscape. During her decade in the National Assembly, she served as a Commissioner of the Parliamentary Service Commission — the first woman from the Nyanza Region to do so — and in 2020 was appointed Chair of the Finance and National Planning Committee, the first woman in Kenyan history to chair this powerful committee. She was elected Chairperson of ODM for Homa Bay County in 2015, a position no woman had previously contested, and from 2018 served as Secretary to the ODM Central Management Committee. She also played a founding role in the Embrace Kenya movement, which championed the Building Bridges Initiative and the historic Handshake between President Uhuru Kenyatta and Rt. Hon. Raila Odinga. In 2017, she led the Nyanza Presidential Campaign team for Rt. Hon. Raila Odinga, and in 2022 was a lead campaigner for the Azimio la Umoja coalition. In 2024, she made further history by becoming the first woman elected as National Chairperson of the Orange Democratic Movement. Since assuming office in August 2022, Governor Wanga has pursued an ambitious agenda centred on fiscal transformation, healthcare access, infrastructure development, education, and economic empowerment. Her tenure has earned recognition from independent research firms — including Infotrak, which ranked her among Kenya's best-performing governors in 2023 — and has been marked by measurable gains across multiple sectors. A landmark revenue reform introduced a cashless payment system in September 2023, eliminating financial leakages and driving the county's highest own-source revenue collection in seven years — rising from KSh 491.5 million in FY 2022/23 to KSh 1.2 billion in FY 2023/24, and reaching KSh 1.73 billion by July 2025. In healthcare, Governor Wanga has overseen the expansion of hospital capacity and the launch of free maternal health programmes, achieving a measurable reduction in maternal and infant mortality rates. Her administration has also prioritised road connectivity, opening 736 kilometres of new roads in 2024/25 and undertaking maintenance and rehabilitation of hundreds more, improving access to schools, health facilities, markets, and fishing beaches across all constituencies.