By Anderson Ojwang
Kisumu County has produced some of the best senators in the country with the first senator and now the Governor Prof Anyang Nyong’o and the current senator Prof Tom Ojienda, have set a precedent to the successor.
The seat has been only attracting professionals from the region, with the past senators living to the billing and have exemplary performed in the senate and raised the bar higher.
That is why the entry of Nairobi Advocate Fred Odumo Nying’uro a native of Kano- Kakola Location, in Nyando Constituency has elicited excitement in the electorates who feel he fits the bill and is an able replacement to Ojienda who will not defend the seat but instead will vie for the Kisumu gubernatorial seat.
Ojienda succeeded former Nyando MP Fred Outa who did not defend his seat and was subsequently appointed Kenya’s ambassador to Egypt by President William Ruto.
Wakili Fred Odumo, a former personal assistant and Legal Counsel to the retired chief Justice David Maraga is respected in the corridors of Justice and was a trusted servant to the no nonsense Chief Justice.
Maraga is celebrated for making history for having presided over the nullification of Presidential results in the 2017 general elections over electoral irregularity.
“As the Legal Counsel to the Chief Justice during that critical and crucial moment for the country, I am happy that my service in the administration of justice sector especially in the Judiciary have gone along way in establishing electoral justice in the country,” he said.
Wakili Fred Odumo who was recently appointed by His excellency President William Ruto as Director in the newly established Gambling Regulatory Authority (GRA) which is domiciled in the office of the president associate his recent appointed to the recognition by the president of his legal reform credentials in the country especially on matters dealing with rule of law, good governance and devolution.
Professional background
Wakili Fred Odumo was admitted to the Bar in 2011 and holds a Post graduate a Diploma from the Law Kenya School of Law (ATP), Certified Mediator (MIT), Masters of Laws LLM from University of Salford, Manchester UK . He is also a member of the East African law Society (EALS) and the International Bar Association (IBA). He was admitted as lawyer to practice as an Assistant Defense and Prosecution Counsel at the International Criminal Court (ICC) in the Hague in the year 2023.
During his tenure in the Judiciary, he served as a Legal Counsel in the office of the Chief Justice, Secretary to the inaugural Judiciary Committee on Elections (JCE), Secretary to the Judiciary Committee on Transition of Tribunals (JCT), and Secretary to the Judiciary Committee on Asset Recovery of stolen judiciary asset and at the Judiciary Training Institute(JTI).
Public record also shows that Mr. Nying’uro’s overall experience, knowledge and acquired skills as legal practitioner has been instrumental and associated with the positive development of the jurisprudence in Electoral laws, Administrative law and Constitutional law.
He made significant contribution in the justice sector during the Judiciary reform initiatives, first, under the Judiciary Transformation Framework (JTF) for the year 2011-2015 and in the development of Sustaining Judicial Transformation (SJT), a customer service oriented delivery framework, a similar concept to the bottom up approach spearheaded by the new administration.
Mr. Nying’uro was also instrumental in the policy origination for the development of the various Elections Laws, Political Party’s Act , the Small Claims Court Act, 2016 – a law which is expected to speed up the delivery of justice especially in relation to trade disputes, debt collections (both personal and commercial) personal injury claims with a pecuniary jurisdiction of Kshs. 2,000,000; and, second, the Legal Aid Act, 2016, which establishes a fund for the payment of legal cost to the poor and indigent litigants.
Wakili Fred Odumo Nyingúro started his campaign for the 2027 Senatorial Seat by first by meeting with the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party leadership in the County and convening meetings with all the 60 party delegates from each of the seven constituencies, he has also held several consultative meetings with Church leaders, Muslim Leaders, Women leaders and Luo Council of elders led by KER Odungi Randa.
Community Service and projects
He is a philanthropist known for his support to the vulnerable in the society and has initiated several projects in the seven sub counties namely , Nyakach, Nyando, Muhoroni, Kisumu West, Seme, Kisumu Centre; and Kisumu East constituencies. Through his private educational assistance initiative called “Live No Child Behind”, Odumo has supported orphans and needy bright children access secondary education.
The program targets needy and deserving students in day schools within Kisumu County where from each sub county 25 students were admitted to the program. Local leaders, chiefs and school teachers are involved in identifying the deserving needy cases.
“I pay schools to the needy students and orphans in the day school because educating children builds a foundation for lifelong success, and enhanced career prospects. I am a living example of a beneficiary of community intervention. My father died in a road accident in Ahero when I was just about 11 months old. My mother who was illiterate was left to fend for me and my other siblings through selling vegetables, tomatoes, mangoes and cereals in Ahero Market. I had to study very had and in the Standard Eight KSCE examinations I was the top student in Karanda Primary School in Nyando Constituency. The rest is history.
Medical camps
Wakili Fred Odumo has sponsored several medical camps and mobile eye clinics in all the seven constituencies to address the emerging health concerns and plan to roll out several medical camp this year arguing that the government funding for county governments cannot sustain the rising epidemics hence the need for private partnership.
Youth Economic Empowerment
Wakili Fred Odumo has constructed over 55 boda boda shades in the seven constituencies to help address insecurity and for easy management of the boda boda operators in the Seven Constituencies in Kisumu County. This initiative has been hailed by the local Chiefs and Market managements as a strategic intervention in the informal sector.
Wakili Fred Odumo has also met with the Kisumu Juakali Artisan Association with a view to having the Association fully converted into a Sacco.
Meeting with officials of Kisumu County Juakali Artisan Association
Agriculture
To improve food security, Wakili Odumo initiated ”Mbegu Mashinani”, which target farmers in Kisumu County by providing free maize seedling every planting season.
“I intend to enhance food security intervention by giving seedlings in February and March during planting season. We distribute maize seedlings in all the seven constituencies to deal with high levels of hunger and malnutrition driven by climate shocks (droughts/floods), poverty, population growth, and inefficient food systems, impacting vulnerable rural communities especially in Kisumu County;” he said.
Market and Beach Management Groups.
Wakili Fred Odumo have also engaged different Market management through their leadership to support local community based organizations and recently gave Ahero market Community based organzizations gave Sh 200,000 to the 14 CBOs in the market center to boost their business. He intends to expand this programme this year to Awasi, Katito, Sondu, Muhoroni, Kombewa, Mamboleo, Kibuye markets.
Wakili Fred Odumo at Jubilee Market in Kisumu Central.
Wakili at Muhoroni Market
He has also supported various Beach Management Groups in Seme and Nyakach Constituencies by donating free Life Saving Jackets for the fishermen.
Annual Widows ( Mond Ruoth] Xmas Gift program
Wakili Fred Odumo in Memory of his mother established an annual widow gift programs where he identify widow groups in the seven constituencies who receive Christmas and new year gift packages so as to celebrate like the able members of the society. In the past two years he has donated Xmas food provisions including cooking oil, sugar, salt, soaps, rice, maize floor, wheat floor, tea etc to the various widow groups in the Seven Constituencies.
When asked about his approach to oversighting the county government, Wakili stated that “The oversite role of the Senate does not extend to fighting or attacking the person of the governor for personal interests. A senator can instead hold the governor accountable by invoking the constitutionally mandated processes for checks and balances without creating a civil war or paralysis in the county government. My overriding principle in dealing with the County government will be based on the public interest doctrine. My role will be that of the caretaker of the Kisumu County at the Senate. In that capacity, I will protect the interest of Kisumu County for the equitable sharing of the national resources in the Country as we are also tax payers just like all other Kenyans. I will call out the county government and its leadership when they are wrong and at the same time give credit when they are right. At the end of the day, we all want a Kisumu County which is progressive in the betterment of our lives by provision of the necessary human needs (housing, food, education, health care, infrastructure etc)”
