A candidate for Suba South parliamentary seat has received a major boost in his campaigns after elders from the populous Kalisuria clan endorsed him.
The Independent candidate, Stephen Sangira is seeking to inherit the seat currently held by ODM national Chairman John Mbadi.
The elders led by Benson Onjula said they have carefully scrutinized Sangira’s manifesto and arrived at the decision to support him because he has proven capable of developing the constituency.
Mbadi is not defending the seat after he vied for Homa Bay governor but later stepped down for Gladys Wanga.
One of the top contenders for the seat is former Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s Chief of Staff Caroli Omondi who is vying on an ODM party ticket.
Other candidates are former Homa Bay Trade Chief Officer Julius Opala, University don Medo Misama and Jared Abich.
The elders’ endorsement of Sangira is a game changer and will complicate matters for the ODM party candidate despite the party being considered dominant in the area.
Parliamentary elections in Suba South constituency has traditionally been determined by clans.
Kalisuria and Kachuodho clans have been supporting Mbadi against Caroli’s Kadibuoro clan. This enabled Mbadi to win the seat for three consecutive terms. “Members of Kachuodho clan have supported our son John Mbadi for MP for 15 years. It’s our turn to return favour by standing with Sangira,” Onjula said.
He argued that they want residents of Suba South to continue living in
unity for economic prosperity. “We want the Suba South leadership to rotate
among the clans comprising the constituency. For now we have proposed and settled on Sangira to succeed Mbadi,” Onjula said.
The elders said they want fair distribution of resources and
development in the constituency and called on all candidates for various political seats conduct their campaigns peacefully.
Sangira said the endorsement has boosted his bid and
expressed confidence of winning the seat during August 9 General Election.
“Suba South has water scarcity and bad roads which l will prioritize if elected,” Sangira added.
Meanwhile, the outgoing MP Mbadi has urged area residents to stand with the ODM party candidate Mr Caroli Omondi.
Speaking at Nyenga Mixed Secondary school yesterday, Mbadi
warned candidates against using elders to gain political mileage.
He urged residents to vote for Azimio one Kenya Alliance candidate Raila Odinga for presidency and ODM party candidates for all other elective seats. “Elders shouldn’t be used to conduct unwarranted endorsements,” Mbadi said.
