Businessman and former Kisumu governor aspirant Hezron McObewa has joined the race for Muhoroni parliamentary seat.
He wants to unseat incumbent MP Onyango Koyoo who is serving his second term. McObewa says he will contest the seat on ODM ticket.
Ex-Kisumu Finance executive Joseph Omulo Okal and former Kisumu county assembly majority leader Samuel Ong’owo are also eyeing the seat.
They are also optimistic of winning as they are banking on their track record.
McObewa, who started his campaign two weeks ago, expressed confidence in unseating Koyoo.
He say he has what it takes to clinch the seat in the next year’s general election.
Even though he had not officially publicly declared his candidature for the seat, his allies said he was touted as the best to take on Nyong’o for the governor position.
However, Nyong’o’s supporters want him to pick McObewa as his running mate.
In 2017, McObewa and former governor Jack Ranguma lost to Nyong’o in disputed ODM nominations for the governor’s ticket.
McObewa has been traversing Muhoroni constituency to popularise his candidature.
There are five wards in Muhoroni: Miwani, Chemelil/Tamu, Masogo/Nyang’oma, Ombeyi and Muhoroni/Koru.
Both Koyoo and Ong’owo hail from Masogo/Nyang’oma ward. Okal and McObewa, on the other hand, come from Miwani and Ombeyi respectively but they live in the scheme.
He has also been meeting elders, opinion leaders, youths and women seeking their support.
On Thursday, he accompanied Nyong’o during the upgrading of Muhoroni to a town status.
He took the opportunity to announce his bid and asked residents to vote for him.
“My campaigns will be issue-based. I want to transform the education sector, roads and empower youths and women,” McObewa said.
He said he will mount a well-structured campaign strategy to enable him win the seat.
Koyoo, however, remains a force to reckon with based on his vast development track record in education, youth and women empowerment.
He also boasts of bringing electrification in schools and road network since he took over in 2013.
Koyoo has been sponsoring students who perform well in the KCPE examination and get admission to any national secondary schools.
He said the CDF committee usually pays 90 per cent of the fees of needy and vulnerable children, adding that they have restructured the bursary scheme to benefit deserving students.
“Their school fees will be paid in full until they complete secondary education, irrespective of the economic status of their parents,” he said
Koyoo said he is committed to ensuring all students, regardless of their background, access education, adding that students taking engineering, medicine and architecture courses will also be funded to encourage more to enrol for the courses.
He said the bursary allocation will be increased by five per cent of the annual budget of the CDF fund.
Koyoo further said education remains his priority area and hopes it will be a good legacy when he retires from active politics.
He has been lauded by education stakeholders, including Education Cabinet Secretary George Magoha and Sports CS Amina Mohammed for his bursary model.
The MP said his track record speaks volume sand expressed confidence in retaining his seat.
In schools, he said he has built ultramodern classrooms, dormitories and dining halls both in primary and secondary to enhance learning.
Koyoo said all aspirants are free to sell their ideologies and tell electorates what they want to do for them when they get elected.
(edited by Amol Awuor)
