Writes Leo Odera Omolo In Kisumu City.

The former MP for Kisumu Town West the Most Rev.Ken Nyagudi could score a surprise as the only former legislator from Luo-Nyanza who is likely to make it back to the august House after the Mach4, 2013.

However, this will be in a different constituency after the recent realignment following the sub-division of his former constituency and the creation of the Kisumu Central.

The new constituency which was created by the IEBC was among those 80 new parliamentary constituencies created by the electoral body and endorsement by an act of parliament. It will be much smaller, only covering the Central Business District{CBD} and peri-urban areas of Nyalnda, Pandpieri, Dunga, Obunga, industrial area, Jua Kali, Kibuye and residential estates of Arina, Ondiek, Lumumba, Shauri Moyo and Kenya Railways quarter.

Large portion of the former Kisumu Town West is now included in the new Kisumu Town West which has also included part of the former Kisumu Rural constituency covering parts of Kisumo East,West and Central rural locations whose the majority of its inhabitants are the indignant people known as Jo-Kisumo.

Rev Nyagudi who has declared his interest in the Kisumu Central had a head-start owing to his good track record when he served as the MP for Kisumu town West between 2002-2007. He Is credited for excellent utilization of government devolved money meant for the development of socio-economic projects. The shoe-shiners shades at the main Kisumu Bus Terminal are some of the living shinning example of its excellent service t the electorate.

Nyagudi, however, will be battling it out with an equally popular, influential and an experienced politician the name of George Kwanya Odidi, the former KFF official in Nyanza a director of the flourishing building construction firm.

Coincidentally Mrs Nagudi is a close relative of Odidi. They both hail from Kanjira sub-clan in Karachuonyo constituency in Homa-Bay County. There the contest is interestingly expected to be the battle of the two in-laws!!

Also rearing to have at shot at the Kisumu Central seat is the heavily moneyed youthful former Nairobi University student Ken Obura.

The youthful aspirant whose father was a elected civic leader in the County Council Kisumu was born in a political house. He is from Kano Kabonyo in Nyando district and he is reported to have graduated from the university in 2010, but already a successful businessman.

Obura is said t have mastered a large following of the electorate, mainly the youth. However, he will have to do a lot of damage control and public relations after one of the newspapers had in the previous weeks reported that he is linked with the TNA-URP. He has since fiercely denied the report and reaffirmed his unswerving loyalty to the ODM.

The Kisumu Central seat has also attracted a party’s inception and currently operating her businesses mainly in Nairobi.

Also in the race for the Kisumu Central seat as the youthful entrepreneur Abdul Khadir Omar who is running and managing flourishing motor vehicles spare parts in the City’s Industrial / Jua Kali area under the business flagship of “Duba Shop”.

Al the five aspirants are member of the ODM and will be battling for the party’s ticket during the preliminary nomination slated for December / January. Whoever sail through at the primary will automatically be the next MP or Kisumu Central due to the heavy concentration of ODM members in this newly created parliamentary constituency, which is a cosmopolitan in the true sense of the word because the winner will be representing a multi-ethnic residents of Kisumu town .

The electorate in this constituency include Indians, Luos,Arabs,Luhyias,Kisiis,Somalis. However, Rev Ken Nyagudi is considered like someone whose leadership has been tested and therefore he stand a better chance of beating his rivals with a large margin of votes.

Ends