By Team
The political future of five Kisumu legislators and the Deputy Governor is facing a red card and waiting for the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to issue the sacking letter.
The legislators and the Deputy Governor have a date with IEBC on 10th August 2027, when only one of them may receive a promotion letter while the rest will be dismissed from employment.
Staring at the sack or promotion are Deputy Governor Dr Mathews Owili, Kisumu Senator Prof Tom Ojienda, Kisumu Women Representative Ruth Odinga, Kisumu Central MP Dr Joshua Oron, Nyakach MP Aduma Owuor, and Kisumu West MP Rosa Buyu.
The aspirants have already expressed interest to contest on the Siaya Senator Dr Oburu Oginga-led Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) ticket, where they will be guillotined at the party primaries.
ODM will sieve the aspirants and hand over sacking letters to the losers before awarding the successful candidate the ticket to face off with opponents.
The hexagon will have to contend with the return of the founding Governor Jack Ranguma, who has declared interest in the seat to complete his second term.
Ranguma comes into the race with over 100,000 basket full of vote block and is credited for having presided over the implementation of 1,200 projects during his reign.
The former Governor, who will declare his interest in the seat soon, has received pressure from the churches, a section of employees, and the business community to preside over the transition.
The gubernatorial aspirants have heightened campaigns for the seat and have been crisscrossing the county in pursuit of votes.
Dynamics
The Deputy Governor, Dr Owili, comes from Nyakach, where both Ojienda and Aduma also hail from.
The trio will first be battling for the Nyakach constituency, which has five wards comprising North Nyakach with registered voters of 21,438, South East Nyakach with 17,394, West Nyakach with 14,900, Central Nyakach with 14,199, and South West Nyakach with 10,009, coming to a total of 77,934 voters.
Rosa Buyu is the Kisumu West MP, which has 82,927 registered voters and five wards: South West Kisumu with 15,592, Central Kisumu with 21,829, Kisumu North with 17,599, North West Kisumu with 13,973, and West Kisumu with 13,952.
Kisumu Central constituency is represented by Dr Oron and has 130,149 registered voters. It has six wards: Market Ward with 29,278, Railways with 25,365, Kondele with 25,019, Migosi with 18,193, Shauri Moyo with 17,675, and Nyalenda B with 16,619 voters.
Nyando constituency is the home turf of Ranguma and Oron, with 80,757 registered voters and four wards. The wards are Kobura with 21,020, Awasi Onjiko with 18,448, Ahero with 18,131, Kabonyo Kanyagwal with 13,012, and East Kano/Wawidhi with 10,146 voters.
Both Ojienda and Ranguma have homes in Muhoroni, with 79,765 registered voters and five wards. The wards are Muhoroni/Koru with 19,388, Masogo/Nyangoma with 18,629, Chemelil with 16,933, Ombeyi Ward with 13,969, and Miwani Ward with 10,846 voters.
Neutral ground
Seme and Kisumu East constituencies are the neutral and battleground areas in the 2027 gubernatorial contest.
Seme constituency has 62,045 voters and is served by four wards: West Seme with 17,396, North Seme with 15,234, Central Seme with 13,995, and East Seme with 13,920 voters.
Kisumu East constituency has 98,177 registered voters with five wards: Kajulu Ward with 26,717, Kolwa Central with 22,306, Kolwa East with 15,234, Manyatta B with 15,095, and Nyalenda A with 13,765 voters.
No coat-hanging
The demise of former ODM party leader Raila Odinga has levelled the playing ground and marked the end of coat-hanging and riding on the back of the former Prime Minister to win the seat.
Already ODM itself is struggling to appeal to the electorate and suffering from the emergence of Embakasi East MP Babu Owino and Siaya Governor James Orengo in the scene.
The Linda Mwananchi group has gained ground in Kisumu and eaten into the ODM vote block, causing panic not only within the party leadership but also among aspirants.
ODM struggled to hold a rally in Kisumu and used Sh200 million to mobilise, while the Linda Mwananchi rally was organic.
Vacancies
In Kisumu Central, the MP seat is vacant and has attracted three leading candidates: businessman Bob Ceo Onyango, Kondele MCA Joachim Oketch Swagga, former Kisumu County Education Chief Officer Mr Bovimce Ochieng, and former MP Fred Ouda.
Onyango and Swagga have intensified their campaigns and are viewed as the top runners for the seat.
In Nyakach, the battle for the seat is in top gear, with Kisumu County ODM Secretary Okoth Opande set to battle for the party ticket against Nashon Agundha Kuja, journalist Trevor Ombija, among others.
They will face off with UDA candidate and former area MP Pollynces Ochieng Daima.
The seat for the Women Representative has been flooded by several aspirants who have expressed interest.
In the vacant Senatorial seat, Nairobi-based advocate Fred Odhuno, Mr Samwel Odoro, Israel Kodiaga, and journalist Willis Raburu have expressed interest.
New faces
Kisumu County is likely to have new faces in the Assembly, the Senate, and the Governor’s office.
For the first time, the electorate will have a field day to choose a candidate of their choice with the least party and Raila’s engagement.
