OKECH KENDO: Wanga soars above gender biases

A contest is brewing in a region yet to elect its first woman governor. The August 9 election may be the moment for a woman to make history.

When this happens, a seasoned politician will take credit for embracing party consensus and gender parity. The man was the undeclared winner of the 2017 Homa Bay governor race,

The High Court, the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court recorded this evidence during the 2018 Homa Bay governor election petition. He was also the favourite to win before party consensus altered the equation.

Joseph Oyugi Magwanga, the former two-time Kasipul MP, is sharing the ODM governor ticket with Homa Bay Woman Rep Gladys Wanga. She is articulate, strong, and a bold mobiliser, riding on the moniker 'The Lioness'.

The two have a huge vote base. Rachuonyo's three constituencies — Karachuonyo, Kasipul and Kabondo-Kasipul — have 280,000 of the county's 551,071 registered voters. Wanga's Rangwe base has 70,000 votes. Magwanga comes from Rachuonyo.

Wanga and Magwanga are running against Independent candidate Evans Kidero.

Kidero, who is from Rangwe, was Nairobi governor between 2013-17. He lost the seat to Mike Sonko, who fled to Mombasa to try his luck. Kidero is testing testy grounds in Homa Bay. Kidero, who twice benefitted from direct party nominations, lost the seat with ODM machinery, and the defunct National Super Alliance of Wiper party, Ford Kenya, and ANC supporting his bid.

Kidero is running against two strong party politicians hoping to secure a final five-year term as governor of the rural county. From a city county with Sh40 billion annual budget, Kidero is fighting to control a Sh7 billion kitty. Apart from the integrity baggage he carries, and the 2017 loss in Nairobi, Kidero faces a heavy party machinery. He is daring at a time

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ODM leader Raila Odinga stands a realistic chance of winning the presidency. For the first time, a Kenyan outside the Kikuyu and the Kalenjin enclaves stands a realistic chance of winning the presidential race, with a woman, Martha Karua, as running-mate. The two communities have controlled the presidency for 60 years, through their sons.

The race comes with heavy sentiments in ODM strongholds. Homa Bay is ODM's strongest base, with party candidates controlling elective seats. Party loyalists say Kidero occupies the wrong side of history. This time in 2017, Magwanga, then an independent governor candidate, was enjoying a 70 per cent chance of winning. He ran against a lackluster, but politically correct incumbent Cyprian Awiti.

Opinion polls show Wanga and Magwanga stand a 60 per cent chance of winning against Kidero. The hopes of the independent candidate may dwindle, as Raila's chance of winning soars. The county may not want to be 'drugged' to the opposition. Kidero's symbol is 'Dawa'.

Magwanga, the popular independent candidate of 2017, won in the party primaries, but he wasn't declared the ticket-holder. Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission vote counters had the final say. The High Court sitting in Homa Bay nullified Governor Awiti's election in 2018. The Court of Appeal, sitting in Kisumu, affirmed the decision of the lower court. Awiti appealed.

The Supreme Court retained IEBC's decision of 2017 in what was viewed as a political judgment: A broke national government wasn't ready for a countywide by-election.

Homa Bay wasted the first decade of devolution. It hopes to reclaim the gains of devolution with an ODM team of Wanga as governor and Magwanga as deputy governor under a possible Raila presidency.

To the gendered ticket's favour, voters are beginning to understand that women can. Wanga's eloquent and impassioned appeal to the electorate, especially women, is gaining traction weeks to the ballot.