Oburu Oginga battles ageism as race for Siaya Senate seat takes shape

The parties that have nominated candidates to the contest have gone all out to portray their candidates as either being old and mature for the seat or young enough to bring a revolution and inject fresh blood into the leadership of Siaya County.

By fronting Raila Odinga's elder brother, a former MP and finance assistant minister with decades of experience in public service, the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) has sought to portray him as a mature and experienced leader who is capable of uniting leaders.

Oburu is hoping to be an elected leader again after being nominated twice, in 2013 and 2017.

In 2013, he was nominated as an MP after he was disqualified from contesting the Siaya governorship race by ODM's elections board.

In 2017, Oburu was nominated as EALA MP. He was nominated after he lost in party primaries to Dr Gideon Ochanda in the race to clinch the ODM ticket for Bondo parliamentary seat.

Oburu says he has a wealth of experience and wisdom to represent the people of Siaya in the Senate.

His candidature has split the opinion of locals with some claiming that he should pass the leadership baton to the next generation. Others insist that his experience and knowledge in policy-making are vital resources required in the Senate.

Oburu has cautioned political opponents against writing him off simply because he is "too old".

To him, age is just a number.

In the build-up to the August 9 polls, Oburu has been forced to defend his age as well as 'Odingaism' that have dominated the Siaya Senate race.

"We have seen older leaders who have successfully steered their nations to prosperity," said Oburu, adding that the Senate needs a mixture of young and old leaders.

Senator James Orengo with East Africa Legislative Assembly (Eala) MP Oburu Oginga in Gem, Siaya County. [Elvis Ogina, Standard]

Mr Omondi, for instance, has been reaching out to the youth, asking them to support "one of their own" for the job.

"As a young man, I understand the challenges facing the youth in Siaya and will therefore offer better solutions," he said during a recent rally.

Political pundits argue that Oburu's chances of clinching the seat could be high because Mr Orengo is not seeking another term, and because of ODM's popularity in Siaya County.

For 53-year-old Okinda, his agenda is to ensure equitable distribution of opportunities for the people of Siaya as enshrined in the Constitution.

Okinda, who fell out with ODM following what he termed as shambolic nominations, slammed the six-piece voting pattern, saying it is a dictatorship.

"Oburu is to blame for underdevelopment in Siaya after he influenced the election of the outgoing governor Cornel Rasanga," said Okinda.

ODM politicians led by Alego-Usonga MP Samuel Atandi have been selling Oburu as a mature and reliable leader.

"With his experience and a father figure to the county politicians, Oburu is in a position to call these other leaders for meetings," argued Atandi.