Reports Leo Odera Omolo In Awendo Town, Migori County.

TWO men who are believed to be the most trusted confidants and close political associates of the Prime Minister Raila Amolo Odinga appeared to have taken an early led in the battle for the two prime positions in the Migori County governance thereby sending the other aspirants eyeing the same positions into great panicking.

The two are Prof. Edward Oyugi Akong’o who appeared to have already emerged as the leading contender for the lucrative position of the Migori County governor.

The other Raila’s political associate of long standing is the former Mathare MP Gilbert Ochieng’ Mbeo who is contesting the covenant position of Migori Senate seat.

Before winning the Mathare parliamentary seat during the 1992 first multiparty elections, Ochieng’Mbeo was among the so-called Young Turks who joined hands with the late Jaramogi Oginga Odinga the doyen of the opposition in Kenya and fought gallantly for the introduction of the multiparty system of politics in Kenya as opposed to hitherto most dreaded one party monolithic system.

Prof Akong’o Oyugi who hails from Suna Migori was detained along side with the late George Moseti Anyona the former Kitutu Masaba MP and Jaramogi Oginga Odinga and Raila Odinga and others after a long period of torture at the now infamous and defunct Nyayo Torture Chambers under the hawk eye of the then dreaded Special Branch security intelligence under the retired President Daniel Arap Moi and he lost his teaching job at the University of Nairobi upon his release from detention camp, forcing him to fled the country in search of green pasture in Europe as he could longer be employed by any public University in Kenya.

The crime committed by the trio was alleged attempt to launch an opposition party in Kenya during the clamor for the multi-party political system which was sweeping the country lie Tsunami at the time.

In the 1992 first election held under the multiparty system, Ochieng’ Mbeo comfortably won the Mathare parliamentary seat of a Ford Kenya ticket. He was later nominated by the LDP then led by Raila Odinga to represent Kenya in the East African Legislative Assembly in Arusha where he was returned twice before serving in the ODM electoral system for a couple of years.

Armed with an American degree Ohieng’ Mbeo is considered the most experienced and suitable person to represent Migori County in the Senate due to his vast experience and wealth of experience in parliamentary system.

Mbeo is to square it with the one time two times MP for the old larger Homa-Bay constituency Phares Oluoch Kanindo, a man who is well known for party hoping or party hoper who contested the Rongo parliamentary seat on PNU ticket in 2007 and who is considered by the electorate as a spent force and politically non-entity.

He had twice served as the chairman of the board of the directors for the Awendo-based SonySugar Company which he left in huff after failing to turn the government-owned sugar mill around into a vibrant profit-making outfit.

After sitting in the August House for close to ten year Kanindo is on record for not having made his maiden speech s or asking questions. The majority of the electorate in Migori say his time is up and as such he should vacate the political field for more the youthful and properly educated lots.

Kanindo of late has been making the round while appearing in almost every funeral gathering making sugar-coated speeches in Dho-Luo vernacular dialect for which he is so fluent in, but which the locals consider as ‘big joke” and ineffective and stale as for as modern politics in Kenya f today are concerned.

Ochieng’Mbeo is therefore stand a better chance of clinching Migori Senate seat in the absent of any other credible challenger. The ODM party loyalty will also count a great deal This is because the ODM will not take the risk of issue anyone whose loyalty and total commitment to the party presidential victory with a ticket to contest any elective position on its behalf. He paty’s vetting and screening would be the toughest this time around.

The Migori County in a complex that the region is shared by two ethnic tribal group,namely the luos the majority and the Kurias who are the minority. However, the Kuria and Luos have worked together from the time immemorial since 1962 when the former South Nyanza district was split into two one for theKiii and the Southern Nyanza fr the Luos. The Luos went home Bayalog with their neighbors the Kuriapeople.

The two communities have lived and worked together harmoniously. During the formation of the larger County Council of the greater Southern Nyanza, the late Mzee Paul Mboya Akoko became the first County Clerk. Mboya was a Luo from Karachuonyo while his deputy was Chacha Marama from Kuria and when Mboya finally bowed out ad retired Chacha Marama took over the County Clerk position and served for long time. The two communities plans to share the County positions of the County governance in equal terms and in a democratic manner.

In the case of governor Prof Akong’o Oyugi who is serving as political adviser to the Prime minster on matters of politics is expected to battle it with several other aspirants who have already declared their interest in the seat.

They included the KSB zonal director for Sonysugar zone Zacharia Okoth Obado from North Kanyamkago, in Uriri district,Ezra Odondi Odhiambo from Central Sakwa in Awendo district, Mark Nyamita also from Uriri distrct, Christopher Rusanat.

However, Prof Oyugi appeared to be more popular than the rest of the aspirants an acceptable by the electorate to the entire region.
Migori Cunt has eight parliamentary constituencies, namely Kuia East, Kuria Wes, Migor East,Migori West, Nyatike, Uriri,Awendo and Rongo..

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