Writes Leo Odera Omolo In Kisumu City.

For close to the three decades he was operating covertly and clandestinely behind the scene while using his massive wealth by sponsoring parliamentary and civic candidates vying for the various elective positions in Nyando constituency.

However, the Nyando kingmaker this time around has decided to plunge himself into senatorial contest in Kisumu County Senate seat in an election has promised to be the most bruising battle ever seen in the region.

Eng. Maxwell Otieno Odongo a structural engineer-cum-lawyer by profession is the man to watch in the battle for the Kisumu County Senate seat.

The business magnate is the Managing Director of COOPA Africa Consulting Engineering, a company with its head office in Nairobi. This firm is also operating in other African countries with business contacts and operations in other parts of the world.

While operating in the same capacity with defunct Otieno Odongo and Partners Engineering, the engineer-cum-layer was for many years used his enormous resources and successful sponsored a number of candidates who clinched the Nyando parliamentary seat in the early 1970s and 1980s.

He once served as the Kisumu district branch secretary of the ruling KANU party during Mi’s era. He is believed to have been the mentor of the former Nyando M Tom Ogalo Ogada who late served as an Assistant Minister in the KANU regime. He had a helping hand in the election victory of the later peter Anyumba and the immediate former Nyando MP Eng Eric Opon Nyamunga and finally assisted the incumbent MP Fred Outa to an easy victory in the same constituency.

Otieno Odongo is also credited for having helped the late Paul Omanga win the Kenya Union of Sugar Plantation Workers. Omanga died while serving as member of COTU[K} executive board and a top unionist.

The three aspirants in the contest of Kisumu County Senate seat are men of different in characters .Prof Nyong’o is a staunch supporters of the Prime Minister Raila , to be a men of class, thrift and means.

Eng Otieno Odongo is a flamboyant and outgoing man who is fond of mixing with friend and excessively generous person. He has spent millions of his money lending hands of assistance to bright students from poor families no only in Nyando home turf, but in other district and regions. He said to have single handedly sponsored some of the student in the public universities an even in overseas institutions of higher learning in foreign counties.

Eng. Otieno Odongo is credited for having established businesses and firms, which ha employed close to 500 people within the localities. He owns a large scale sugar cane arm in the Kibos/Miwani area of the Nyanza sugar belt, as well as rice milling factory in Ahero Town. Posho Mills in Ahero and MuhoroniTowns.

The business magnate is also running the Homa-Bay Tourist Hotel, which he had acquired from the KTDC some year ago together with Kisumu based prestigious Sunset Hotel, but abandon this after the deal went sour on technicality only settling the Homa-Bay facility which he has improved to a tourist class.

The engineer is also a landlord in Kisumu, Nair9obi and elsewhere. He is the proprietor of Lake Market in the middle of Kisumu City’s Central Business District {CBD] with consortium of dozens of shopping stalls and kiosks.

Having come the populous Kano clan reputed with well over 200,000registered voters well spread within three administrative districts in Kisumu County such as Nyando Muhoroni and Kisumu East districts,Otieno Odongo is expected to make an easy sail through and grab the Kisumu Senate seat.

Ocholla Ogoda is originally from Gem Rae are of lower Nyakach, but settled in the Muhoroni Settlement Scheme. He is being credited for his public oratory and excellent ability to mobilize.

He can still marshal support from his Nyakach community which is also another vote rich region within Kisumu County and members of the Nakach community living in Muhoroni district.

Prof.Nyong’o has represented Kisumu Rural constituency for close to 15 consecutive years. However, his lackluster and dismal performance both at the constituency level and at the ministerial could work to his disadvantage. Consider the poor medical supplies, lack of drugs at the government hospitals would give his rivals the best ammunition to shoot down his candidature.

A the three aspirants for the Kisumu Senate seat are resourceful men who could easily sustain the heat of the election campaign for the next five months before the polling day which is slated for Mach 4.2013.

Ends