Investigative Report By Leo Odera Omolo In Kisum City

IMMEDIATELY soon after the promulgation of Kenya’s new constitution last August by President Mwi Kibaki, many prospective aspirants jumped overboard and quickly pronounced their intention to contest the election in various constituencies inside Luo-Nyanza.

The would be candidates contesting several election positions such as parliamentary and senate seats, country governors and county civic representatives made extensive tour of the country side, especially in the areas targeted for the big contest come the general elections schedule for later this year.

These prospective aspirants invaded the region organizing for Harambee fund drives in aid of the various economic and social projects in many parts of the region. Some of them initiated the establishment of football clubs to popularize and promote their personal image, others made it sure thy contributed lavishly towards the funeral expenses to the families of the bereaved.

Many potential aspirants rushed with books donation to schools or with other learning aids and gears to popularize themselves among the communities.

The worse of it all was the invasion of funeral homes in the company of heavily drugged and intoxicated youths menacingly behaving in readiness for physical combat and fight against those perceived to be the potential opponents of their man.

These aspirants and their drunken youths made funeral places no go area. Money appeared not to be in short supply. The aspirants purchased uniforms for their favorite sports teams and organizations, bought sport gears such as balls and trophies for the competing teams. Other spent fortune paying the popular “Ohangla musicians” other spent lavishly on local orchestra jazz bands which composed hurriedly composed and recorded cheap songs in their praise.

However, a thorough survey carried out by this writer in many constituencies revealed that most of these would be heavily moneyed aspirants have already beaten quick retreat and disappeared in the thin air not to be heard or seen anywhere within the localities.

Their sudden disappearance could be attributed to varied factors, but the major one being that these prospective aspirants had panicked in fear of facing mass disqualification at the time of the nomination which will be conducted by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, which has set up tough electoral conditions such as the requirement that each candidate for either parliament, senate or governorship must be a degree holder from recognized University or from any other institutions of higher learning.

MANY aspirants according to our investigations are armed with fake degrees and certificates obtained through dubious contacts or bought cheaply from back street vendors in India and other Western countries, where such document are said to be selling cheaply.

These tough conditions have since kept many aspirants out of circulations. Some have even severed their phone links with their supporters back home and retreated to the safety of Nairobi City.

In most cases the aspirants mobile phones have remained permanently switched off, and this to a certain extent is a blessing in disguise to the bereaved families whose homes have at one time or the other were turned into political platform.

Other reason could be attributed to the recent outbreak of a serious fighting in a funeral home at Kachien Village near Oyugis during which the vehicle which belonging to the chairman of the ODM election Board eng. Phillip Okoth Okundi was stoned and extensively damaged when the attackers mistook the vehicle to be that of the area MP Joseph Oyugi Mgwanga. In the same incident the Immigration and Registrations of persons Minister Otieno Kajwng’took to his heels amid hail of stones and escaped to Oyugis town for his personal safety.

Scores of youths were injured in the melee while some of the sustained serious bodily harm and were admitted to the hospital or treatment.

Several well known professional mourners who have been shuttling the full length and width of the greater Southern Nyanza region, while addressing mourners on behalf of their masters received the beatings, one of them the most notorious one was seen walking out of the fateful funeral home minus his shoes.

Other factors which have contributed immensely to the sudden disappearances of the aspirants from the scene could be due to finances. Those were reported to have been engaged themselves in premature election campaigns and were reported to be spending extravagantly may have already burnt their fingers and had their coffers depleted of funds. A case in point is that of one of the aspirants in the greater Southern Nyanza who was spending close to between Kshs 200,000 and 300,000 a week is now said to be in full flights from the troops of auctioneer in Nairobi and has gone underground.

According to impeccable sources, most of the aspirants who came to the scene too early are sad to be people engaged in dubious businesses such as drug dealers and peddlers, brokerage dealers with connection to high places, which facilitated them to acting as pseudo importers of popular items such as bitumen, oil, and other imported materials used in road construction and building industry in which they are said to be minting millions, which they are said to be sharing the loot with authorizing authorities, in most cases government ministries and parastatals as ell as quasi-governments, a clear indication that corruption in high paces still in existence in full swing with impunity.

There is a clear indication that the battle for most of the elective seats such as parliament, senate and governor in Luo-Nyanza will be a tall order in which Tom Dick and Harry will fall by the wayside. The sweet-talking politicians either men or women with half-baked education will find themselves in a more awkward conditions in some could even could prosecutions after uttering false documents before the IEBC.

Of late there appeared to have been many people inside Luo-Nyanza claiming to be the holders of fake Phd doctorate degrees whose sources are said to be dubious. And only the time will tell.

Ends