Busia Governor Sospeter Ojaamong [Courtesy]
Governor Sospeter Ojaamong’s interest in the Teso South parliamentary race has set off a fierce competition.
The governor’s decision to switch to parliamentary elections after serving two terms appears to be complicating matters for the incumbent Mr Geoffrey Omuse (ODM) and former area MP Ms Mary Emase (UDA).
The situation has seen Mr Omuse ditch ODM ahead of the party’s primaries scheduled for next month, to ensure that he is on the ballot come August 9.
He has opted to contest as an independent candidate.
“I ditched ODM not because I fear the governor but to ensure I face him (Ojaamong) and square it out on the ballot. I will support Raila’s presidency despite being an independent candidate,” said Omuse in a phone interview yesterday.
Mr Omuse is credited with building offices for chiefs, building police stations and classrooms.
The MP has also been issuing bursaries to needy learners .
“Every student in every household gets bursary, beneficiaries are educated up to university. More than 10,000 students are on the programme. I have put up girls’ school in each of the six wards to curb teenage pregnancy at a cost of Sh125 million,” said Omuse.
He went on: “Ojaamong is telling the constituents that if they elect him, he will bring development. For 10 years, he has been controlling billions and did nothing. He is just serving his own selfish interests,” said the lawmaker.
According to Mr Omuse, Mr Ojaamong ought to join other second-term governors campaigning for ODM leader instead of causing confusion among Azimio la Umoja supporters in Teso South and Busia County at large.
Ms Emase who vied on a Jubilee ticket in 2017 seems determined to bounce back.
She was first elected to Parliament on URP ticket in 2013 and has kept her political network in the constituency intact.
The former lawmaker is the only woman aspirant in the male-dominated parliamentary race.
Messrs Ojaamong and Omuse were to battle it out for the ODM ticket in the party primaries for the winner to face-off with Ms Emase, but the incumbent has ditched the Orange party.
Ms Emase and the governor come from Chakoli division while Mr Omuse hails from Amukura division.
“Ojaamong and Emase come from the same area and this could be a blessing in disguise to the incumbent MP because they are likely to share the spoils in Chakoli and have Amukura vote as a bloc in favour of their man,” said Emmanuela Mulaa, a political scientist from the University of Nairobi.
Party politics may not play a major role going by the outcome of the 2017 elections where Ms Emase, a Jubilee party candidate, won in the primaries then lost narrowly to the incumbent.
Hotly contested
In the hotly contested race, Mr Omuse garnered 22,840 votes with Ms Emase bagging 22,493 votes to finish second.
Clan politics appear to come at the tail end, with a majority of people saying that they will judge the aspirants based on their track records.
Some residents interviewed said they won’t support Mr Ojaamong because he has not achieved much as governor of Busia.
But the governor’s supporters insist that he is the right person to steer Teso South forward given his vast experience as a politician and a manager.
Ojaamong served as the MP for Amogoro constituency that would later be split into Teso North and Teso South constituencies.
Supporters of Ms Emase said Busia-Malaba road was built during her tenure.
She also pushed for the construction of Okame Technical Training College and purchased land for a teachers’ training college.
The former MP told The Standard on the phone that she was confident the people of Teso South would give her another chance to serve them.
“I helped my constituency get its first tarmac road since independence, a technical training institute and a university but my competitors have nothing to show.
“I helped empower welfare groups, including helping boda boda riders whom I helped acquire motorcycles, we shall begin where we left and I have shared my vision and aspirations with the voters,” she said.
She said the projects she initiated in the constituency put her a cut above her competitors, including governor Ojaamong.
“I challenge the governor to tell voters what he has done for his people in his position as the county boss. The sitting MP must also brace for a tough duel,” said Ms Emase.
Lesser seat
According to her, it would be embarrassing for Ojaamong to vie for a lesser seat. “He (Ojaamong) should focus on scaling the ladder up instead of going for the MP seat,” said the politician.
“I believe I lost unfairly in 2017, but the voters are more enlightened now and I am confident that I will trounce my rivals,” said Emase.
Emase believes party politics will not play a bigger role because Busia is no longer an ODM zone as was the case in the past elections.
But Mr Ojaamong seems not bothered by attacks from his rivals and continues to crisscross the county “consulting voters”.
Ojaamong said he has done his best as governor, saying his track record speaks for itself.
“I will not bow to pressure and get distracted by those pushing me to drop my bid. I have served as an MP, minister and now governor and achieved a lot, don’t imagine that the race will be a walk in the park,” warned Ojaamong yesterday.
Ojaamong said those claiming that he did not deliver while serving as Amagoro MP between 2007 and 2013, have chosen not to appreciate his achievements.
Through his Director of Communications Winston Banda, the governor said Teso South constituency needs a leader who has a robust network to attract development.
