Reports Leo Odera Omolo In Kisumu City.
The weekend endorsement for the Health Services Minister Prof Peter Anyang’ Nyong’o to vie for the Kisumu County senate seat has been received wit mixed reaction by the electorate in the region.
Observers and political pundits were quick in pointing out that Prof. Nyong’’s quest for the senate seat would be a daunted if not an uphill task, while others have described the move as political suicide.
Nyong’o is the current MP or Kisumu Rural, a rural constituency, which has since been disbanded by the IEBC, which has realigned and splinted into three, namely Seme, Kisumu town West and Kisumu Central.
The Minister has represented Kisumu Rural eve since 1992 first multi-party elections on a Ford Kenya ticket, but was rested by the voters in 1997 and was only re-elected back to parliament on an n LDP ticket in 2002 after a five years in political limbo only after reportedly being reconciled with Raila Odinga.
Nyong’o is facing Equally powerful, influential, resourceful Nairobi base businessmen in the name of En Maxwell Otieno Odongo of Otieno Odongo and Partners Engineering Company and a Nairobi base architect Ocholla Ogoda the former poplar Gor Mahia Football Club chairman.
Local pundits say his chances of clinching the Kisumu County Senate seat are very remote if not a pipe dream.
Information reaching us says Prof Nyong’o has never been a highly performer MP at the local political derby. His detractors are accusing of being a very mean and extremely thrift person tot worth to be a politician.
His lackluster and dismal performance at the constituency level has contributed a great deal to his poor performance resulting in bad blood between him and his constituents.
At the national political area, the Professor has been the principal spokesman of the ODM o mater related to the party policy and ideological guidance. He had always had the sole of the most formidable defender on the part leader Raila Odinga. Perhaps this is what has prompted the Minister to shift his political base from his Seme Rural constituency to Kisumu County an area with the largest cosmopolitan voters in the hope that Raila Odinga will come to his aid and bail him out of shameful d Senate.
The MPs move in backing and endorsing Nyong’o or the Kisumu County Senate seat, however, is faulted by many people who described it as an attempt impose leadership on the voters. Some o the MPs who came to Kisumu to drum up the support for Nyong’o, however, are themselves facing lean time in their respective constituencies, and quite a few of them will be kicked out. So they would only cause Pro Nyong’o more trouble.
One of Prof Nyong’o’s most credible opponents is Eng. Maxell Otieno Odongo, who hails from the populous Kano sub-clan, which is well spread I the three administrative districts of Nyando, Muhoroni and part of Kisumu is arguably posing a real threat to Nyong’o’s ambition. It is said that if the clans arithmetic could work in Odongo’s favor then Prof Nyong’o is going to nowhere.
The other aspirant, Ochola Ogoda hails from another populous clan of Nyakach. He has settled in Muhoron Settement scheme where the presence of people whose original home is from Nakch is formidable. Ogoda, would therefore claim most of the voter fro Nyakach district, while Nyong;o whose relations with the electorate in hi s home turf of Seme s aid not to be all that much cordial could face uncertain political future if cannot re-brand himself.
Otieno Odongo is a flamboyant industrialists-cum-business tycoon who had employed so many people in his own establishment, which span from large scale sugar cane farming, tourist hotels, engineering firm with an international outlet, milling and also involve in the rice milling business in Ahero and elsewhere.
Immediately after the launching of Prof.Nyong’o Senate campaign, the dreadful rumor went around that the six ODM who attended the ceremony had agreed on an MOU called to mount a joint campaign aimed at scuttling Engineer Odogo’s campaign or the Senate seat Stop Otieno Odongo [SOO} campaign to scuttle Eng. Odongo elaborate campaign. The Engineer had launched his own campaign at the same venue two weeks ago, which attracted thousands of people from all the seven constituencies that form the Kiumu County.
The constituencies are Nakach, Muhoroni, Nyando, Kisumu Town East, Kisumu Central, Kisumu Tow West and the newly created Seme constituency.
Commonly known to his peers as “The Aga Khan” as the result of his generosity towards the down trodden poor people.Eng Oteno Odongo one of the wealthiest Luos is said to be very generous and had helped in paying school fees for hundreds of students from the poor families acquire education, ad is known for making hefty donate towards the local community projects.
Ends