Eight in race to replace one-year legislator who was denied ticket

Bonchari MP Pavel Oimeke. He will not be defending the seat. [Sammy Omingo, Standard]

Eight candidates have entered the ring to replace Bonchari MP Pavel Oimeke who will not be defending the seat he won through a by-election in May 2021.

Oimeke was elected on an ODM party ticket in a hotly-contested by-election that saw the government deploy huge resources to campaign for Jubilee party's candidate Zebedeo Opore who emerged second in the race.

The MP who will have served for slightly a year by August 9 elections was denied the ODM party ticket after the party’s elections board issued a direct ticket to Jonah Ondieki. This means Oimeke could go down history as one of the shortest serving MPs. 

The May 2021 by-election was the second in the constituency in a span of six years. In June 2014 voters were in for a by-election after the court nullified Zebedeo Opore’s election; he later won the seat against the former MP Oroo Oyioka.

The constituency has turned into one of largest cosmopolitan areas in Kisii County. Nearly every homestead in the constituency has had a portion of its land sold to private developers from outside the constituency.  

Bonchari borders Migori and Homa Bay counties. It is synonymous with its large production of sweet bananas, cashew nuts and partly sugarcane.

The constituency is among the few parliamentary areas in the region with the highest number of tarmacked roads. It is also home to Suneka Airstrip.

However, the government has been battling with increase in illicit alcohol production in the area that has been linked to high cases of school drop outs and arbitrary sale of land, also believed to be connected the high number of murder cases.

It is also an electoral unit where the majority of its youth have joined politics. In the past two elections, many youth from the area have made it to the County Assembly list as youth nominees or representatives of special groups.

The voting pattern in the constituency is largely influenced by the clan factor which cuts across the South and North Wanjare.

To the South there are Bomariba and Riana wards with a total of slightly above 24,000 votes. The North Wanjare has Bomorenda with more than 15,500 votes and Bogiakumu ward with nearly 14,800 votes.

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has gazetted eight candidates for the parliamentary race. They include; Atacha Jeremiah (Maendeleo Chap Chap), Mogaka Charles Ndege (UPIA), Okindo Nyabayo Geoffrey (USAWA), Ombeta Cliff (UDA), Onchoke Charles (UPA), Jonah Ondieki (ODM), Opore Zebedeo (Jubilee) and David Ogega (KNC).

David Ogega of KNC will be making his fourth stab at the seat. A teacher by profession, he resigned after 18 years in the classroom to venture into politics. He also operates a chain of businesses in Kisii town.

The Kenya Science College graduate says he is ready to impact different leadership skills in the Constituency. “We have been held at ransom for long, we have an opportunity to change and shape our destiny.”

First elected

Jubilee candidate; Opore, 75, was first elected to represent Bonchari Constituency in the 1997 General Election. He also served as Assistant Minister in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. He later lost the seat in the 2007 elections.

In June 2014, he won the Bonchari parliamentary by-election seat with 10,947 votes against the John Oyioka Oroo of ODM, now deceased. Oroo had garnered 6,977.

He is a graduate of economics at the University of Nairobi. He also obtained an MSc in Economics from the University of Bradford in the UK in 1982.

Opore says his priority will be to improve schools and road infrastructure. “I have enough experience to steer the constituency to the next level.”

The University of Nairobi graduate in Geographics; Jonah Ondieki (ODM) will be making his third attempt to clinch the seat. He also Studied Master of Public Administration at Bowling Green State University USA.

He is among the youngest candidates in the race. “We must be ready for generational change. We have laid ground for better things. Change is inevitable and must come right from the heart and mind.”

Charles Mogaka of UPIA graduated from Mount Kenya University in 2019 with a degree in Business Administration.

The 36-year-old also graduated from Kisii National Polytechnic with a Diploma in water Engineering, class of 2005. He is currently studying another Degree in International Relations at MKU.

Mogaka is contesting for the fifth time starting with the general elections in 2007, 2013 and in the June 2014 by-election. 

“This is an election to better the lives of our people. We have some of our opponents who have been in power yet they didn’t transform the constituency. They have invented themselves through change of political parties but still remain the same individuals who have always underperformed.”

UDA’s Cliff Ombeta will be making his debut in Gusii politics having actively participated in the May 2021 by-election while campaigning for the party candidate Teressa Bitutu.

A graduate of the University of Nairobi, Ombeta says he represents the image of a new Bonchari. “Some of these leaders have made more than five attempts while others have had a tenure of more than two terms, what new thing are they bringing on board?”

He says his policies will be anchored on uplifting the lives of the poor in the constituency. “I have done a number of houses for the poor electorates, sponsored students to join schools and contributed to the social welfare of our people. I will do more with government resources.”

UPA party’s Charles Ochoke is an economist who says he is committed to improving lives and making a difference in society. Before he left for the USA to work as a lecturer, he served as a member of the board of directors of Kenya Roads Board.  

USAWA party candidate, Nyabayo is an accountant who operates a private school in Nakuru while Atacha Jeremiah (MCC) is an American-based worker who will be making his third attempt to clinch the seat.