Writes Leo Odera Omolo In Migori Town
The newly created Migori East parliamentary constituency in Migori town is likely to witness one of the most bruising election contest ever seen within Migori County in the recent years.
The new electoral area was hived out of the old Migori constituency, which has since been realigned and renamed as Migori West constituency
Both Migori East and West have cut the fast growing town by two halves, one half in Migori East and the other half in Migori West.
In the past the voting pattern in the old Migori has been gravitating between the town dwellers and the rural Suna East and West Locations with the town population having an upper hand. The political scenario has been that candidates with the support of the town’s population have always triumphed over those from the surrounding rural locations.
The rural population comprises the member of the Abasuba communities, which is considered to be the indignant people in Migori district whereas the Town’s population consisting of immigrant workers, traders and businessmen from the various Luo sub-clans from as far field as Siaya, Rachuonyo, Bondo, Mbita, Suba, Luhyia and Kisii as well as sizable population o Somalis traders.
This past tend is likely going to have a drastic change in the next general election due to the fact that the Town’s population has been cut into half a political scenario which is expected to turn around the voting pattern in favor of the indignant Suna people.
Another factor which is likely to make the election campaign in this new constituency is the fact that two former MPs hail from Migori East technically an immigrant from Karungu in Nyatike constituency. But his family had settled in Nyarongi area of Suna Norhwest which is located right on the border of Suna-Kanyamkago West administrative locations.
It will therefore an up-hill task and a strange fit for the MP to defend and retain his seat in this newly created constituency in which the rural folks voters will be the majority of the voters.
The two former MPs for Migori include the immediate legislator and the populist Charles Oyugi Owino {Jalikowa} who hail from Kakrao one of the largest sub-clans of the Suna group, but ho has since switched his residency and settled in a new home located in Wasio sub-clan which is located in Suna East Location only a few kilometers in the eastern side of the outskirt of Migori Town.
Owino Jalikowa, however, is being scathingly criticized for having facilitated the arrival of so many Somalis and their settlement in Migori Town. The immigrant Somalis some of them from foreign countries and the North Eastern Province and the Somalia Republic have since dominated businesses in the town.
The Somalis have also acquired many prime plots on which they have built permanent business and residential plots, and are known to be still scrambling for more even at time grabbing public utility land plots including those spaces set aside for schools, something which has raised political temperature at times. The Somalis have dominated the trade and businesses in town.
The other former Migori MP is the one time two times representative of the former old larger Migori constituency George Owino Acholla, a resident of Kwa village in Suna East, but an immigrant settler from Seme in Kisumu West district.
Arguably Owino Achola who represented Migori while it was sill the largest parliamentary constituency covering areas including what is today known as Uriri Constituency was the most effective and successful legislator who is widely acclaimed for having done a lot to the electorate in terms of development of both economic an social infrastructure in the region. He has been out of parliamentary politics ever since 2002, but his names still rungs into the minds of the electorates.
All the former legislators have already indicated their intention of contesting the next general election scheduled on March 4th, 2012 in the same Migori East constituency.
The new constituency, however, has attracted three other aspirants, all of them newcomers to parliamentary politics. One of them is a prominent Nairobi businessman Pete Jobando, who hails from Wasio in the Suba East Division within Migori district.
He is the son of a prominent elder, the late Yuda Hosea Jobando, the former Market Superintendent in the defunct County Council of South Nyanza.
Other prospective contestants include Ogola Ogola who hails from Ngege area in Suna East and Martin Odipo who is a resident of Kadika village in Wasweta East also in Suba East. The two, however, are not considered to be posing a big threat to the sitting MP.
Also expected to join the race is Bishop Ogwada a perennial election loser in the old Migori constituency. Ogwada hails from Osingo in the Suba-East.
The constituency has a strong presence of sizable Luhyia community, mainly the Maragolis of Kakirao who have always acted as the swing votes in the past elections. But so far no member of this community has come forward to declare his or her interest in the seat.
This is a semi-cosmopolitan constituency whose inhabitants are also reputed of having come from various Luo-Sub-clans like Nayakach, Gwassi, Rusinga and Mangano Islands, Karachonyo, Kasipul-Kabondo, Kadem and other like Kisii.
The Nairobi based business magnate is considered as leading the pact other aspirants including the incumbent MP John pea. He runs an electricity installation firm Loitech Limited, which is involved in the installation of street lights and another firm called DNS Limited which is involved in the building construction businesses.
He is so frequent at home, over the weekends conducting Harambee fund drives for the schools and other essential development infrastructure and has build a sizable following among the youths, business community and women folks.
The new constituency is bordering Uriri in the north, Kilgoris in the east, Kuria East n the South East, Miori West in the west, Nyatike in the southwest. It is an agriculturally rich region where farmers are growing both sugar cane and tobacco are cash crops
However, cattle rustling between the Maasais, Kuria,Kisii and the Luos have always resulted in petty intra-community squabbles leading at time to full fledged tribal clashes an loss of lives thereby hampering development activities. The new mp will have to pull up his sacks and ensure the harmony and peaceful co-existence among the three major tribes.
Ends
I can only comment on one thing:we don’t have a luo -sub clan cold gwassi since even gwassi is also cosmopolitan.with many tribes residing there i.e suba,luhyas,luos, Gussi and to some extent Somalis of Kenyan origins. i think this is what has been giving kajwang hard time with the suba community to refer to them as luos sub clans. Since whenever they are called luos they feel not recognized as rightful Kenyans and second rate citizens.
magi jokong’o werigo
We are Suba and not by any chance a luo-sub clan. our language is not linked to luo in any way. Suba has also dialects like the Luhya. The subas of Mfangano have a different dialect to that of mainland Kaksingiri or parts of Gwasii e.g. Mfangano dialect call a lady “Omwala”, kaksigiri call a lady “Omwisiki”Do I go on? The closest language to us is Maragoli and Kiganda so to call us a luo-sub clan is to distort history and deny our very existence! A history Kajuang cannot erase!!
Yes,luo are nilotes and luhyias are bantus. Now to which group does the suba belong? And how did come to occupy the lake region.
Remember in the early 17 th.century the region was mainly by kisii’s so, do are they (suba) a kisii tribe.
Suba are just luo sub tribe coz they using luo namds
Thats why i dont like mark matunga coz he pretend to be a suba than others and yet his grandpa were named using luo names
It is sad that the writer states that Owino Achola ” was the most effective and successful legislator who is widely acclaimed for having done a lot to the electorate in terms of development.” Please can you refrain from referring to Owino Achola as “effective and successful” Owino Achola was a joke who never found any success in whatever he did in life. He never initiated any meaningful development agenda for the constituency. In fact, he was a default candidate who won because there was no better alternative since the incumbent who had just been elected, Hon. Likowa, immediately defected to KANU. Owino Achola was subsequently re-elected only after RAO pleaded with the electorate.
Migori has over the years had a leadership deficiency. It is only the late Hon. John Henry Okwanyo who initiated the projects that made Migori what it is today. Since his death, we have been subjected to poor leadership. Take for instance Owino Likowa, an alcoholic who would insist on conducting all his business in local pubs/bars while drunk – never did anything substantial for the constituents. Then came the immediate former M.P, John Pesa, an a school administrator who was cast as a bureaucrat. Talk about misguided priorities! Please don’t get me started on this guy. He too failed like his predecessors. The electorate finally got tired of his “hide and sick” games and showed him the door. Pesa would go to any lengths to avoid the electorate like a plague. CDF saga will always be dogging him.