Writes Leo Odera Omolo.

DEGGARS seemed to have already been drawn up for the election battle in the race for Homa-Bay County Senate seat.

The contest for this important County governance seat appeared to be heading for a two men horse race between the Immigration and Registration of Persons Minister Gerald Otieno Kajwang’ and the populist Nairobi based youthful and populist businessman Hilary Ochieng’ Alila..

A number of the would be aspirants for the same seat appeared to have backed out of the race, leaving the field open for the two Kajwang’ and Alila to battle out.

Kajwang’ is the outgoing Mbita MP and a seasoned politician who has represented the Mbita people for the past three consecutive terms ever since 1997. The Minister, however, is leaving the Sua region without the blessing and confident of the voters in the region following his recent patch up with the Suba community over the change of the name o two parliamentary constituencies, namely Gwassi and Mbita, which had been changed by the IEBC to Suba South and Suba North.

The hurdles facing Kajwang’ is his reported concerted effort to rubbish the existence of the Suba community, failure to recognize the existence community and failure to come into terms with political realities that the existence the Suba community is not negotiable and a reality.

The Minister who is known to be one of Raila Odinga’s confidants, and infamous or his Bado Kuna Mapambano lyrics political song, is being accused for having made no significant contributions in terms of development of Mbit constituency and Likened by the constituents like “someone who is flying out of political realities in the region” and seeking a soft landing spot in the Homa-Bay Senate seat.

Kjawang’ had previously underrated his worthy challenger Hilary Hilary Alila and apparently concentrated his energies fighting the late Joshua Orwa Ojode, the former Ndhiwa MP who before he met his sudden and accidental death on June 10, 2012 in a helicopter crash had indicated that he too would contest the same Homa-Bay

This paved the way for a tactful and mobilizer per excellence Hilary Alila who is a very resourceful young politician to concentrate in building his power bases in all the eight parliamentary constituencies stretching from Kabondo-Kasipul, Kasipul, Karachuonyo, Rangwe, Homa-Bay Town, Ndhiwa, Gwassi and Mbita.

Meanwhile report reaching this writer from Ndhiwa constituency says the constituents there have faulted Tom Otieno Alila the elder brother of Hilary Alila who made the announcement at the weekend that he too would be contesting the impending Ndhiwa by-election .

The rumor making he round in Ndhiwa Town and it environs, is that Tom Alila’s candidature is a deploy tactics of Minister Otieno Kajwang’ which are meant and aimed at weakening the most effective campaign being mounted by the latter’s younger brother Hilary Alila against him in the race for Homa-Bay County where the two are battling it out for the County Senate seat.

Ndhiwa electorate wants Tom Alila to withdraw his candidature in the Ndhiwa by-election to allow Hilary Alila to put p a strong challenge against Kajwang’ in the battle for Senate seat. “Moreover Tom Alila is not an ODM member and as such his chance of clinching Ndhiwa seat are too remote”, they said, adding unless he is being used as spoiler he should pull out immediately. His younger brother has invested a lot in the Senate campaign.

In the same context, Ndhiwa constituents also wants Sam Ojode to pull out of the by-election race so that Orwa Ojode’s widow Mary Ojode could carry out the family flag and recapture the vacant seat. to continue implementing the soicio-economic projects were initiated by her late husband ,but left unfinished.

Both Sam Ojode and Tom Alila were not available for their immediate comments on the latest development. Phone call placed to their mobile phone numbers went unanswered.

Ends