Homa Bay results affirm Raila's political clout in Nyanza

The victory of Moses Kajwang' in the Homa Bay senatorial seat sparked off divergent reactions among county residents.

The by-election will remain vivid in the minds of many in what made CORD leader Raila Odinga produce a lot of sweat for his Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party to emerge victorious.

ODM realised the by-election would not be a walk in the park despite the fact that Homa Bay is the party's stronghold.

The tough battle began after a botched ODM primaries when former Rangwe MP Philip Okundi and NSSF boss Fred Rabongo ditched ODM to proceed to the ballot with Maendeleo Democratic Party and National Agenda party respectively.

Raila tried to persuade the two to drop their ambitions of contesting the seat and back ODM's Kajwang'.

Speaking during a rally in Homa Bay town, Raila said he wanted the two and other contestants to back Kajwang' so that he could be elected unopposed.

• .

  Keep Reading

• 
  State bans sand harvesting in Homa Bay to avert disaster
• 
  Will Linturi 'broker' his way out of mess?
• 
  NG-CDF driver arraigned in court over alleged murder of Homa Bay bouncer
• 
  Return of Baba? A firebrand Raila Odinga and AU dilemma

However, none of the candidates heeded to Raila's call, a situation which led eight hopefuls reach the ballot box.

But the question which lingers in many people's minds is that what does the victory for Kajwang' mean?. Kajwang' beat his closest rival Okundi by close to 100,000 votes, which is a landslide by all means.

Kajwang' replaces his elder brother the late Gerald Otieno Kajwang', a long serving politician who died in Nairobi late last year.

Maseno University Political Science Lecturer Tom Mboya says it is ODM that won the election but not Kajwang'.

Mboya argues that Kajwang's victory emanated from external voices. "This competition was very stiff but when a senior politician like Boni Khalwale said vote ODM if you dislike Kajwang', most residents including those who would not have voted him cast their votes for the sake of ODM," Mboya says.

He argues the apology made by ODM Secretary General Ababu Namwamba over the recently disputed ODM nomination must have played a significant role in Kajwang's victory.

Significantly contributed

"Remember that the main cause of protesting against ODM in the by-election resulted from a poor nomination process. But when Ababu went to Homa Bay, he pleaded with the people to vote Kajwang' on grounds that the party is going to rectify nomination irregularities," he added.

Michael Agwanda, a senior politician in Ndhiwa constituency argues that the death of ODM acting chairperson Monica Amolo must have contributed significantly to Kajwang's landslide victory.

"Monica was a politician who struggled for many years in promoting popularity of ODM but she has also done a lot in changing many people's lives hence people might have viewed her death as a sympathy to vote for Kajwang' whom she was supporting," Agwanda said.

Homa Bay County Assembly Speaker Samuel Ochillo says the overwhelming support ODM got in the election is a sign that Homa Bay residents have confidence in Raila.

"Raila's popularity is not in danger in South Nyanza but this is a sign of trust people have in him. I want to appreciate the manner in which youth voted and they demonstrated their ability in taking leadership of this country," said Ochillo.

Residents were surprised by the manner in which Raila travelled to each of the eight constituencies to seek votes for Kajwang.

"We have never witnessed a campaign conducted with choppers the way our politicians did in this county. In fact it was done like a presidential campaign where a lot of money was spent," said Shem Odoyo, area ODM youth Leader.