Reports Leo Odera Omolo

The last week’s announcement by Mrs Grace Adhiambo Akumu that she would challenge her male opponent in the contest for Nyakach parliamentary seat come the next year’s polls has received a big boost at home.

A group stakeholders who converged at Pap Onditi in lower Nyakach on Monday unanimously resolved to give Mrs Akumu a trial. “Nyakach needs a change in its political stewardship after nearly forty five yeas of mael representation”, membors of the group said.

The group called for a fair nomination system, in the ODM, to be put in place so that the playing ground is leveled for all the players including female aspirants. And in the next preliminary elections, nominations be supervised by the officials from the government electoral body.

Led by their spokesman Ben David Okoth said Nyakach has had six different representatives ever since the inception of the constituency in 1966. But all have failed to offer the residents any effective representation in the national Assembly and also in the government.

The seat was created in 1966 following the abolition of the tri-cameral parliament. Which include the Senate and Regional Assembly under the Lancaster House constitution of 1962.

The first MP was Ondiek Chilo Miguda, a former member of the Nyanza Regional Assembly, who had just succeeded the late Senator D.O. Makasembo who represented Central Nyanza district, then perished In a road accident. And following the abolition of both the Senate and Regional Assemblies, a new constituency was created to absorb the Senator like it was the case in all other 42 districts country-wide.

Chilo, along side the leader of the defunct KPU opposition party, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, were detained following Kisumu disturbances of 1969. In the general election that followed the same year, a veteran trade unionist, J.D. Akumu, was elected the new MP and became he second MP for the area. Akumu did not finish his five year term. He moved to Accra, Ghana to become the founder Secretary General of the Organization of African Trade Union Unity {OATUU}.

In the 1974 general election Kisumu base business magnate, Samson Odoyo, who had also served as the Kisumu Mayor briefly, won the election and became the third MP for Nyakach. Five years later, Odoyo in 1979, was dethroned by his cousin and his former Town Clerk, Ojwang’K’Ombudo, who successfully retained his seat in 1983 and 1988. K’Ombudo had also served briefly in the cabinet as the Minister for Water Development in h last KANU regime led by the retired President Daniel Arap Moi.

But in the 1992 general election, K’Ombudo was ousted by by the veteran trade unionist, J.D.Akumu, who had teamed up with Jaramogi Oginga Odinga in Ford-Kenya party. This was the first multi-party elections after the abolition of the monolith one party system and the introduction of multiparty system. Akumu was ousted by Peter Odoyo in 1997 who successfully defend his at in 2002, but was later dethroned by Polins Ochieng’ Daima in 2007.

This writer interviewed a cross section of Nyakach residents, who were of the opinion that the time is ripe for the area to have a female representative in the August House.

“Our previous MPs who have been all male were a big let down, and it would be good for us to try a woman with high profile like Mrs Akumu. As a mother her candidature is most welcome. If voted in as the new MP Mrs Akumu would definitely change the path of local political derby in Nyakach and we expect hr to take care of the orphans, widows and youths,” said Bob Ojwang’, who said he was an ODM official n lower Nyakach.

Mrs Akumu contested the same seat in 2007 and was third place after Eng Kodera and the winner Ochieng’ Daima. She beat a number of men contestants, but this time around she has been assured of an overwhelming support.

Nyakach is an area with myriad of problems and need a high profile woman representative Mrs Akumu’s calibre.

These problems include perennial flooding of its lower pats, poor crops husbandry which has led to incessant acute shortage of food grains due to poor planning, insecurity cause by cattle Sondu town, a number of youths have declared their support for Mrs Akumu and vowed to campaign for her.

ENDS