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ANOTHER HIGH PROFILE ASPIRANT ENTERS THE RACE FOR GWASSI SEAT IN SUBA.

Gwasi Constituency in Suba district has a new technocrat parliamentary hopeful who is armed with a very attractive Phd degree in accountancy and financial management.

Joshua Ouma Wanjare is the latest entry into an already crowded field of close to eleven aspirants.

If the clans’ arithmetic can work then Mr. Ouma Wanjare 49 is the man to watch. He hails from the Joka – Oongo sub – clan, which is the third largest after Kubia and Kamwenda sub – clans. The Oongo sub – clan is considered as the indigenous people of the area who first settled in Gwassi earlier than the rest of multiethnic communities who are the inhabitants of the area.

The incumbent MP is Hon. Zaddock Syongo is a member of the minority Wakala sub – clan from Kisegi area.

Other aspirants include the immediate former MP Felix Kanyauchi, a Nairobi based lawyer who represented the area between 1997 – 2002 but lost the seat to Hon. Syongo in 2002.

Nyauchi is a member of the dominant Kubia sub – clan. Other parliamentary hopefuls include Mr. Karoli Omondi Ocholla a prominent banker. He too hails from Kubia.

In fact the Jo – Kubia group have produced six candidates almost all of them are members of one family. They include Mrs. Consolata Yambo, Mr. Jack Otana, Mr. John Mbadi, George Mboya, Karoli Omondi Ocholla and Felix Nyauchi while the second largest sub – clan (Kamwenda) has produced only two aspirants Mr. William Okuoro and Mr. Sam Ongoro.

The fourth largest sub-clan Kakisingiri has only one candidate in the name of Mr. John Ouma Nyakwaka.

To struck the balanced and the distribution of representation, the Joka – Mwenda group produced the late Dr. Valentine Omolo Opere (Nyamgodho) as the MP of the larger former Mbita Constituency. The Joka – Kaksingiri also had their man in parliament in the namethe former Health Minister Peter C. Otieno Nyakiamo who served two terms between 1983 and 1992.

This time round, according to local bookmarkers, it is the turn of the Joka – Oongo (Kibegi) who for all these years ever since the Constituency was created in 1993 have turned the swing votes which had also created the winning balance act in recent past.

Mr. Ouma Wanjare took his early education at Tonga Seconadry School in Gwassi and studied for his ‘A’ level at Kabarnet High School in the Rift Valley Province.

While at Tonga he was a classmate of the current Mbita MP Gerald Otieno Kajwang’ and also school mate of his arch – rival Mr. Felix Nyauchi.

He later moved to Strathmore College, Nairobi, where he studied for CPA and qualified as a chartered accountant.

He served as financial Accountant with the Sony Sugar Company before he moved to another Multinational Corporation as the general manager. He has BA, MBA and Phd degrees in Business and Financial Management. He later moved to the US where he served with multination Corporations in senior managerial capacities.

He is married with three grown up children. Two of them have finished their University Course and are working in the US. The last child is still at the University in the US. He is now a senior lecturer in one of the private Universities in the country.

While declaring his candidature Mr. Ouma Wanjare decried lack of tangible development in Gwassi. He said although the area is potential in fishing and fish trade the local businessmen and farmers cannot prosper due to poor state of feeder and access roads.

All the previous MPs had ignored the importance of infrastructure such as roads. The area has the worst roads in the entire Republic of Kenya. Gwassi cannot be accessed during rain season at time even with four-wheel drive vehicles

Turning on disbursement of CDF Mr. Ouma Wanjare, said all the members of the CDF disbursing committee are people residing in Nairobi and therefore do not understand the importance of the devolving fund, and its priorities on the ground. ‘’This trend must change’’, he added.

He severely criticised Hon. Syongo for having distributed the CDF, School Bursary Fund and Road Maintenance funds selectively to areas where his sycophants and political cronies lived. The MP had no time for intellectuals from the area both at home and in Nairobi.

Gwassi is agriculturally potential area, which is why it is being considered as the granary of Suba district, but the farmers cannot access the markets due to poor condition of the roads or take their produce to market because roads are impassable, especially the one linking Sori to Magunga via Lak Nyiero Market and Kabuya and the one which links Mbita – Sindo Gingo to Magunga.

Fishermen in Gwassi have lost millions of shillings to lake pirates from local and foreign countries, but the MP has never presented their case effectively to the government. They have suffered a great loss in terms of fishing gears such as outboards engines, boats fishing net and money.

The Luo politics being what it is, anyone who is not aligned to ODM – K may not have a good luck of clinching a seat in the election proper.

Some characters who are said to be roaming the countryside while masquerading as Raila Odinga men have been roaming about the countryside while branding some of the new aspirants as not belonging to Agwambo camp within the ODM – K but in Gwassi the ODM – K is the party of the day and all the aspirants will be hard pressed to scramble for the party ticket.

Mr. Ouma Wanjare says he is right inside the ODM – K and will battle with other party members, though he has what is called head start for having secured jobs for many young people in places where he had worked. Sony Sugar in particular where he left many school leavers and youths from Gwassi on the company employment.

Ends.

leooderaomolo@yahoo.com

CAPTION: Joshua Ouma Wanjore

Akelo nyar Kager, jaluo@jaluo.com

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