Alego Usonga MP Samuel Atandi has vowed to campaign for Siaya Woman Representative Christine Ombaka.
Atandi alias Ferry said he will carry Ombaka on the ferry and hunt for votes on her behalf.
“A ferry is a big vessel that carries everybody. I am the ferry,” he said.
Atandi spoke on Sunday at Udenda in Alego Usonga during a rally attended by governor hopeful James Orengo and his running mate William Oduol.
Ombaka is seeking a third term on an ODM ticket.
She has on several occasions been shouted down in rallies when called to speak.
Due to this, popular politicians like Atandi and Elisha Odhiambo (Gem MP) strive to quell tensions before calling her to speak in front of a charged crowd.
At Udenda, before inviting her to speak, Atandi portrayed Ombaka as a superb legislator, who is fit to counter ODM’s opponents in Parliament.
“The lady I am about to introduce to you is blessed with the queen’s language,” Atandi told the charged crowd.
When Ombaka took to the podium, no one booed her but noise rented the air, indicating many were not paying attention to her sentiments.
With a strained voice, telling of a person overwhelmed with pressure, Ombaka, unlike her colleagues who spoke for up to five minutes, took a record one minute to campaign for the ODM six-piece.
“Azimio presidential candidate Raila Odinga wants six oranges,” Ombaka said.
She finished her short speech without mentioning anything in her manifesto.
“Let us reach a consensus that even if you do not like a person, we will carry that person on the ferry. The ferry is big,” Atandi said.
Gem MP Elisha Odhiambo campaigned for Ombaka from a regional balancing lens, saying the seat is the only big post that Gem is poised to get.
He said Ombaka should be re-elected.
The Star has learnt that, unlike other politicians who mobilise crowds to political events, Ombaka does not.
Oscar Nyawalo, a youth who attended the Udenda rally told the Star that Ombaka is never in the habit of giving handouts.
“That is why she is finding it rough. Youths are hungry and they see her as a mean person yet she has been in parliament for the past 10 years,” Nyawalo said.
Ombaka is competing against seven other candidates; Emmah Ogola of Maendeleo Democratic Party, Sellah Ayimba of Movement for Democracy and Growth and Pamela Ongoma of the United Democratic Alliance.
Others are Maslister Oudia of Kanu, Mildred Otieno (Independent), Bethy Dundee of Kenya National Congress and Caroline Adhiambo ( Independent)
Edited by Kiilu Damaris
