Writes Leo Odera Omolo In Oyugis Town
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The election race for the Homa-Bay County women representative has entered its most crucial stage following the declaration by one of the women with the highest profile in the region that she will be in the race.
The usually well mannered and conservative former high ranking high school teacher Mrs Roselyn Onyuka is the latest entry into the race for the seat which is also expected to attract other women aspirants.
Mrs Onyuka hails from Kasipul-Kabondo constituency in Rachuonyo South district
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She started her long and rewarding teaching career as a high school teacher, but had meteoric rise quickly climbing up the ladder to become the Principal of St Albert’s Ulanda Girls High School in Rongo district {now Awendo district}.
During Mrs Onyuka headship St Albert’s Girls High School acquired the name as one of the girl’s schools with the excellence performance in the national exam. The school appeared regularly among the top list of excellence performance among girls’ schools in Nyanza.
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Coincidentally, this happened at the time when Asumbi Teachers Training College, one of the most important institutions in the region, was experiencing problems of leadership crisis and almost being run down prompting top planners and decision makers at the Ministry of Education to consider posting the tough and no-nonsense and strictly religious Mrs Onyuka to head the college.
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However, shortly immediately after her arrival, Asumbi Teachers Training College was back on its feet and this again earned her quick promotion to become the Senior Principal followed with her posting to the Province as the new Nyanza Provincial Director of Education, a position in which she performed diligently with seal.
Mrs Onyuka is well known as an achiever. This was a clear testimony that during her role as the PDE schools in Nyanza,particularly those whose names had long disappeared from the rolls of excellence performance got the face-lift and were back on their feet and performed well in national exams.
Mrs Onyuka’s transfer on promotion to become the Senior Deputy Director of Education some years later become controversial with regional leaders and stakeholders were up in arms against it.
Politician joined the fur ore and commented sarcastically claiming it was the move which was aimed at ruining education in the region. Others viewed it as part of scheme and plans hatched by those who had been responsible for running down education in the Nyanza
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The politicians complained bitterly arguing that her transfer was part of the well orchestrated scheme to marginalize the residents of the region in education.The Miistry, however, stood their ground arguing that her transfer was just normal.
At the Ministry headquarters she was assigned the responsibility of being the deputy national coordinator of NACADA programmes and thereafter she retired after attaining the mandatory retirement age. She was later appointed the TSC member for which she served for six years.
Mrs Onyuka was born in Gembe West {formerly Kasigunga} Location in Mbita district and got married in Kasipul-Kabondo where her marriage is blessed with several children most of them grown ups.
She received her primary education at Nyamasare Primary School in Mbita before moving to Asumbi Girls High School where she sat for her KCSE and scored the highest marks. She did her From Five and Form six at the same school before joining the University of Nairobi where she graduated with a bachelor of art degree in education.
Speaking before a huge crowd of mourners during the burial of the late Mzee Apollo Okeyo Omuga last Saturday,Mrs Onyuka declared hat she was an aspiring candidate for the elective position of Women Representative in Parliament and pleaded with the electorate to consider her for the job. The late Okeyo Omuga is her brother-in-law who got married to her eldest sister therefore she spoke on behalf of her relatives.
Onyuka, however, steered clear of the on going local political feuds and wrangling over the controversies surrounding the Suba-Luo issues, which has been boiling in the are o some time now.
She, however, appealed t the residents of Suba region covering what used to be called Low-Lands covering the low laying locations situated along the shorelines of Lake Victoria namely of Gwassi, Kaksingiri,Mfangano, Rusinga, Gembe West, Lambwe East to work together so that they could achieve faster development.
She decried the falling standard of education in the area, and specifically mentioned schools in Rusinga Island, which she said had nothing to celebrate about during the recent results of the year 2011 KCSE national exam.
Onyuka urged the stakeholders, leaders, teachers, professionals and elder from the region to brainstorm together and find the lasting solution on how to improve the falling standard of education.
If elected Mrs Onyuka the women Representative in Parliament she will serve close to eight parliamentary constituencies in six administrative districts, namely Rachuonyo South, Rachuonyo North, Homa-Bay, Ndhiwa, Gwassi and Mbita district.
Currently Homa-Bay County is made of six constituencies. They include Kasipul-Kabondo, Karachuonyo, Rangwe, Ndhia, Gwassi and Mbita. But the County was recently blessed with two additional parliamentary seats under the new electoral are arrangement by IEBC. The newly created seat will be in Kabondo hived out of the old Kasipul-Banondo while and Homa-Bay Town is created out of the old Rangwe constituency.
A survey recently conducted in the region indicated a signs of acceptance of Mrs Onyuka’s candidature with the majority of the electorate hoping she will make good use of her wealth of experience in public service and excellent management.
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