Writes Leo Odera Omolo In Kisumu City.
The newly created Kisumu Central parliamentary constituency has yet attracted another high profile aspirant with very unique historical and political backgrounds, which the local political pundits were quick in predicting his impending election victory as being inevitable.
Kisumu Central electoral area was created by the IEBC as one of the additional 80 constituencies country-wide. It was curved out of the old Kisumu Town West, which has under gone extensive realignment
It will cover the old Peri-Urban areas of Nyalnda slums, Pand-Pieri, Milimani, Kaloleni Slums,Kibuye,Obunga, and the entire Central Business District {CBD} The old Kisumu Town West will now start from the Kisumu Airport and extend into the rural Kisumo Locations.
George Kwanya Odidi, 62 old water engineer by profession is a man of unique character. He was born a revolutionary man with political radicalism entrenched in his blood from childhood.
<
HERE Is Mr Odidi’s photograph.
May be this is one of the reasons which landed him to a political detention camp for nine good months at the Naivasha Maximum Security Prison.
Born in 1950 at Kanjira in West Karachuonyo, Odidi received his early education at Ngeta Primary School and later joined Homa-Bay High school for both his “O” and “A’ levels.
He joined the Kenya for only two year between 1969 and 1970, but was later fired on suspicion that he was among those sympathetic to the 1972 abortive military coup that saw the former CGS Lt Gen Ndolo removed from the armed force and the first Kenyan African Chief Justice the late Kitili Mwendwa being sacked and scores of other given long prison sentences with hard labor.
During the government crackdown on suspicious soldiers and political dissidents Odidi, lost this army job. But he was lucky and after termacking for a few months he landed a new job with the Ministry of Water Development from where the lady-luck came calling on him. The Ministry offered him a three years scholarship to study water engineering course at the Warwick University in the UK
At the completion of his course Odidi returned home and was posted to work in Nyanza on promote as the Provincial Water Engineer in-charge of Nyanza Province.
An during his tenure in Kisumu, Odidi found himself in the catch-22 when the KANU regime under the retired President Daniel Arap Moi launched a full-scale crack-down on the members of the “Mwakenya dissidents countrywide.
He was among scores of those unlucky men and women ho got entangled in the Mwakenya underground activities and got netted in the crack-down by the dreaded Special branch security intelligence police unit.
He was among those who were charged in courts in connection with Mwakenya clandestine movement. He pleaded not guilty and the charges were withdrawn by the prosecution due to luck of sufficient evidence.
Instead of earning his freedom after the court case, Odidi was placed under security detention camp at the Naivasha Maximum Security Prison where he languished for the next nine months.
He was released from detention and fired from the government services without his terminal benefits. Odidi later got involved in football administration and won several position within the KFF in Nyanza region. At the same time he ventured into private business using his engineering training background and established his own enterprising construction firm.
During the first multiparty election of 192 Odidi surprised everyone when he trounced the then incumbent Karachuonyo MP Mrs Phoebe Muga Asiyo during the ford Kenya primary nominations prompting the late Jaramogi Oginga Odinga’s intervention by prevailing upon him to stand down in favor of Mrs Asiyo.Jaramogi was the Ford Kenya national chairman.
Odidi reluctantly succumbed to Jaramogi’s and as a sign of respect to the doyen of oppositionist politics and highly respected freedom fighter he stood down but no sooner the news of his popularity in Karachuonyo reached the ears of the KANU Big-Wigs who immediately sent emissaries to persuade him to contest the election on a KANU ticket. KANU had offered to finance his election campaign with millions, but Odidi stood his ground and turned down.their offer.
Making the announcement for his candidature in Kisumu Central,Odidi said he will strive to initiate the revival of all of the stalled economic projects including manufacturing firms like Kenya Breweries plant in Kisumu are revived to alleviate unemployment of youths in the region.
He plan to ensure the manual removal o the dreaded water hyacinth which has of late became a real menace to the fishing industry, and also to empower youth and women to get involved in small and large scale enterprises, and also to encourage horticultural small scale farming by youths using water of Lake Victoria along its shorelines. The farm products could be exported
Ends