• Those who have declared interest in the seat include former Muhoroni MP Ayiecho Olweny, senior counsel Tom Ojienda, nominated Senator Rose Nyamunga and Nelson Adul.
• Others are Milton Ogada and Phillip Pande, a 28-year-old advocate working with young people across the country.
The Kisumu senator race has attracted six aspirants, all seeking the ODM ticket.
Those who have declared interest in the seat include former Muhoroni MP Ayiecho Olweny, senior counsel Tom Ojienda, nominated Senator Rose Nyamunga and Nelson Adul.
Others eyeing the seat are Milton Ogada and Phillip Pande, a 28-year-old advocate working with young people across the country.
All the aspirants have hit the ground running, each hoping to take over from Senator Fred Outa, who is not in the race.
Ayiecho and Ojienda have been criss-crossing the seven subcounties of Kisumu to popularise their bids.
Ayiecho was initially seen as the party’s favourite, but this appeared ro change after more aspirants joined the race. Ayiecho is the ODM county chairman.
Ayiecho and Ojienda have close links with Kisumu Governor Anyang’ Nyong’o.
Ojienda hails from Nyakach while Olweny comes from Muhoroni.
When he met Kisumu-based journalists on December 23 last year, Ojienda said his experience within the corridors of justice makes him the most-suitable candidate for the Senate seat.
He also hopes to use his networks, which has seen him work closely with many politicians, to achieve his goal.
“I have identified a niche in the Senate, an opportunity to make laws, a chance to contribute to legal development and better leadership in Kisumu county,” Ojienda told journalists in December.
There are people in ODM who doubt Ojienda's loyalty to the party.
But when asked about this, the advocate dismissed the claims, saying that he is committed to ODM.
“I believe in the party’s ideals. I'm a life member and I'm certain that I’ll emerge victorious during the nominations,” he said in December.
The lawyer has been holding meetings with various groups and leaders across the county.
He has also been participating in fundraisers, empowerment programmes and sporting activities.
Ojienda pledged to work with all leaders in championing the interests of residents.
He said he wants to offer proper oversight with measurable intentions and achievements to ensure the county government prioritises specific things in its Appropriation Bill to grow the economy.
Olweny has claimed that some individuals are seeking elective positions for the sake of power, money and to seek protection.
“It is their [aspirants] freedom to contest the seat, but some of these positions need experience in politics. This is why Prof Nyong’o is excelling, because he has been in politics, has the networks locally and abroad, can articulate issues well and is in good books with the national government,” Olweny said in the recent past.
Nyong’o was the first Kisumu senator before Outa took over in 2017.
Outa, who fell out with the county boss, had declared interest in the governor's position but shelved it in support of Ken Obura.
Pande is among the pioneers of Lake Basin Innovation and Investment Week, which is the largest annual entrepreneurship gathering in the region.
It was founded to showcase youth and women-led innovations so they can gain new markets and access capital.
Pande is from Kisumu East subcounty and is said to have joined the race with the endorsement of the Kisumu Youth Caucus, which is said to be the largest young people’s network in the county.
He said he believes voters will give him a chance so that young people can be at the decision-making table.
"The people will decide whether to recycle ‘rickety ideas’ or to go with creative and innovative options with the 21st Century capacity to accelerate pro-grassroots policies and people-driven development,” Pande said.
Nominated Senator Nyamunga was born and raised in Ahero. The mother of five also served as Kisumu county woman representative between 2013 and 2017.
Nyamunga holds a degree in commerce (accounting and finance), as well as a degree in law from the University of Nairobi and has a CPA (K).
Nyamunga, whose slogan is ‘actions speak louder than words’ said she has supported various development projects in Kisumu county.
She will rely on her experience in the Senate and her track record when she was Woman Rep.
“Through the Sh7 million per constituency kitty that the government provided for Woman Representatives, I was able to engage my constituents in projects, gave out bursaries and supported emergencies,” Nyamunga said.
“We also established a poultry farm where 16,000 farmers from women and youth groups have been able to start poultry farming.”
Nyamunga said she also revived stalled fish pond projects started under the Economic Stimulus Programme.
She said farmers are breeding fingerlings in 10 fish ponds.
In a bid to help farmers improve their local breeds through cross-breeding, Nyamunga said she partnered with the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) by identifying animals that would be cross-bred.
She said she lobbied the national government to support farmers with 12 greenhouses distributed across each subcounty.
The aspirants will battle to get the support of the 539,210 registered voters who took part in the last election and those registering as voters.
Kisumu Central constituency leads with 120,000, followed by Kisumu East (81,538), Kisumu West (74,439), Nyando (71,680), Muhoroni (69,091), Nyakach (68,884) and Seme (53,555).
Edited by A.N