FEARS PERSIST THAT THE OLD INTER-CLAN RIVALRIES COULD ONCE AGAIN RAISE ITS UGLY HEAD IN THE FORTHCOMING NGHIWA BY-ELECTION.

Writes Leo Odera Omolo In Homa-Bay Town.

FOLLOWING the breaking of news last week that President Mwai Kibaki has written to the Speaker of the National Assembly assenting to the law that allows him to call for the by-election in all the vacant parliamentary seats politicians In Ndhiwa district have stared running u and down canvassing for the votes.

Ndhiwa seat fell vacant following the death of the former Assistant Minister for Internal Security and Provincial Administration Joshua Orwa Ojode who perished in helicopter crash in Ngong forest near Nairobi that also killed his boss Prof. George Saitoti, the Security Minister, two pilots and the Ministers bodyguards.

Ndhiwa is one of the eight parliamentary constituencies within the larger Homa-Bay County

What is emerging in Ndhiwa is that hi time the old inter-clans rivalries is slowly raising its ugly head ahead of the impending by –elections.
During hi long and rewarding parliamentary politics that begun way back in 1994, Orwa Ojode had succeeded in bringing inter-clan political rivalries to an end. He had neutralized the ground by encouraging the diverse sub-clans into working together in unity as a team. This pragmatic policy worked well and saw the area developing much faster even surpassing all the neighboring constituencies.

The expansive Ndhiwa constituency which is located I the middle of the old greater Southern Nyanza region is made of four major Luo sub-clans and a few immigrant communities from outside the region who had settled among the indignant sub-clans.

The major clans include he Jo-Kabuoch and Jo-Kanyamwa. Members of thee two sub-clans considered themselves as the indignant. The third largest clan is Jo-Kwabwayi {Ojode’s own clan, Jo-Kanyikela and Jo-Kanyidoto. There are also small pockets of smaller immigrant sub-clans such s the Jo-Kaguria, Jo-Kogut, Jo-Komenya,Kajulu, Kawango, Kadhola and a few people who migrated from the Suba community.

During the colonial era, the two major clans were classified and categorized in two different administrative sets called West Nyokal Location comprising of the Jo-Kwabwayi, Jo-Kanyikela and Jo-Kanyidoto.
The other group consisting of the Jo-Kabuoch and Jo-Kanyamwa were called East Konyango Location due to the fact that the two major u-clans are cousins.

The inter-clans rivalries flourished during the early part of independence in 1960s,especially during the tenure of Dr Joseph Gordon Odero-Jowi as the MP first for Lambwe and later for Ndhiwa, but it was fizzled out soon after Odero-Jowi lost his Ndhiwa seat to Matthews OtienoOingoi1969.,politicians in Ndhiwa have began criss-crossing he expansive rural constituency on votes canvassing missions.

Already three names of the would be leading contenders for the seat have hit the ground and public domain.

They included that of the marine management expert Edward Ogonda Odero who is commonly known to his peers as “Ted Odero”. He is working for a group of shipping companies operating in Lake Victoria, but stationed in both Mwanza and Kisumu as the managing director. Odero hails from Karading sub-clan in Central Kabuch with Riana Division. He is an ODM operatives believed to be close to the party leader Raila Odinga.
Odero’s Kabuoch community has the largest registered voters in Ndhiwa followed by the Kanyamwa group. Although many see him as the possible winner of the by-election, local pundits say this could only happen if there will be no more aspirants from within the Kabuoch group.

Another aspirant who is worth watching is Louis Onyango Otieno,who iiis a cousin of the late Orwa Ojode. He is the son of Matthew Otieno Ogingo,who was one time two terms MP for Ndhiwa.

Louis Otieno is the regional Chief Executive Officer of the Microsoft Computer International company in-charge of East, Southern and Central African region based in Nairobi. He a soft spoken intellectual properly armed with several degrees from the US universities. Louis Otieno is likely to earn a lot of sympathy from Ojode’s family and political supporters and friends across the region.

Louis Otieno’s father Otieno Ogingo was Ojode’s political mentor and the Jo-Kwbwayi clan would definitely like to see him step into Ojode’s shoes.

The other person who may pose a serious challenge to the two aspirants is Jeremiah Owiti who hail from Kanyidoto. He is the son of a retired former trade unionist. J.R.Apollo-Owiti was at one time the general secretary of the defunct Kenya Sisal Plantation Workers Union and an old confidant of the late Tom Mboya.

Know to his friends as “Jerro”, owiti is a populist leader who is highly respected in the entire Ndhiwa constituency for his massive contribution towards the development of socio-economic projects. Although he contested the election against Orwa Ojode in 2007, the two were later to develop a close working relation. He is an executive with an international NGO in Nairobi.

The three are emerging clearly as the leading contenders for the Ndhiwa seat. Other names being mentioned quite often included that of the former Ndhiwa MP Tom Okello Obondo. He represented the area briefly after winning the seat in the first multi-party elections in 1992 on a Ford-Kenya ticket, but immediately ditched the party and crossed back to KANU, and thereafter he has never made it back to the August House despite of numerous attempts.

There re other insignificant names like that of Washington Ogutu Kale from Kanymwa, Augustino Neto from Kabuoch, and there could be other people rearing to go, but have yet to make their intentions known publicly.

Stepping into Ora Ojode’s shoe will be an uphill task due to the late legislator colorful and shinning example of achievement in the area

Ends