Scramble for the Governor’s job in Busia County

By Joseph Barasa

 

@barasajoseph
 

The politics of Busia County are already heating up rapidly with the next general elections less than two years away, the seat that is attracting a lot of heat and attention is the top most seat in the county that of the Governor.

Though the seat at the last general elections attracted only two major players, that is the incumbent Governor Sospeter Odeke Ojaamong’ of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) and his closest competitor Eng Vincent Sidai of the United Democratic Front (UDF), this time round it has attracted more competitors.

The most powerful professionals whom the seat has attracted include, the Managing Director of Agricultural Finance Corporation (AFC) Mr. Lucas Meso whose professional credentials more than qualify him the prudent management of the Busia County’s recourses.

                                                                Mr. Lucas Meso

The AFC boss is already proving his mettle by transforming the negative attitudes or fear by thousands of western Kenya residents to take loans by building their capacitities in understanding the advantages of accessing soft credit from outfits like AFC, managing those loans and servicing them.

The other professional entrant is the Managing Director of the National Irrigations Board (NIB) Eng. Dan Barasa from Matayos Sub-county where NIBs is in the process building an irrigation scheme for the residents.

Interestingly at the last general elections, the two competitors at the last elections were all from the Teso Community of Teso south; ironically the Tesos from the North and South have for un-known reasons an aversity for each other when it comes to elective politics – they simply dislike each other.

It should also not be forgotten that the Teso community is so populous that it traverses across the Kenya – Uganda border with the majority being in Uganda complete with their own King who resides in Uganda.

Busia County strategically located on the Kenya – Uganda border not only boasts of the Teso Community, but also includes a number of the Luhyia community’s sub-tribes which are the Bakhayo in Nambale and Matayos sub-counties, Marachi in Butula sub-county, Samia in Funyula sub-county and Banyala in Budalangi sub-county to the South of the County.

The fact that the county is more cosmopolitan with other diverse communities having settled there cannot be escaped - some of these communities’ members are Kisii, Luo, Kikuyu, Somalis including sub-tribes from bordering counties like Bungoma, Siaya and Kakamega counties.

All these communities play a major role in determining the direction of Busia County’s politics even if it is dominated by the Teso and the four Luhyia sub-tribes and it is them that those who are tripling the heat for the Governor’s seat at the next general elections are targeting.

What has emerged clearly since the last general elections is the fact that the Governor’s post is not only powerful, but the holder is indeed in control of a budget of billions of shillings annually.

That said the Governor is in control of contracts and tenders worth billions of shillings annually whereas the senators, the members of parliament and even the members of the county assemblies do not have that.

In the run up to the last general elections, the Luhyia and Teso communities of the county struck a deal that the Teso will be left to gun for the Governor’s seat, with a running mate from the Luhyia while the Senator’s slot was left for the Luhyia’s which went to former Attorney General Amos Wako of ODM whose weak opponent was former Finance Minister and Nambale MP Chris Okemo who is wanted at the Jersey for money laundering alongside former Kenya power Managing Director Samuel Gichuru.

This time round the intense political heat is not even on the senator’s seat or that of the Women’s Representative, Parliamentary or County Assembly – it is just the County Governor and Deputy seats that have become major critical factors.

Though the two communities having agreed to share the devolution cake at the last general elections with Teso having Governorship and the Luhya Senator it has now emerged that the post of governorship has become more attractive it remains to be seen whether this deal is going to hold any water at the coming general elections.

Indeed already Mr. Ojaamong is feeling the heat with some candidates who are interested in his job putting immense pressure on him particularly questioning his performance since he took office nearly three years ago and the composition of the employees he brought aboard to fill the top county jobs.

Almost immediately after taking that office, his greatest detractor and to date has been the Funyula MP Paul Otwoma also of ODM who maneuvered and ensured that he had placed his own point men in virtually every key position in the County Assembly where he has on several occasions tried to use the Assembly to whittle down the Governor but failed.

Recently Dr. Otwoma sharing the same platform with Mr. Ojaamong during the burial of a prominent Busia businessman, openly declared to the Governor that he was going to contest against him at the next general elections.

After that declaration, Mr. Ojaamong welcomed him to try and at the same time warning Dr. Otwoma to come well prepared for a bruising battle since it was not easy to dethrone the incumbent from the leadership position and also he has his own army in every sub-county fighting for him to retain the seat at the next general elections.

Having ousted the former Vice President Moody Awori from gripping the Funyula Constituency in a more than 30 years stranglehold, Dr. Otwoma appears to be over confidence in tackling Mr. Ojaamong out of the Governorship, but there are other critical factors and forces at play that may turn his ambitions into pipedreams. 

Apart from Otwoma another prominent personality who is reportedly eyeing that powerful position of the Busia County Governor at the next general elections is the Managing Director of the Agricultural Finance Corporation, Lucas Meso a highly respected technocrat from Butula Sub-County.

Mr. Meso who became the AFC boss in the 2011 has powerful credential as far as management is concerned compared to his competitors even the incumbent Ojaamong who is a teacher by profession.

He joined the Agricultural Finace Corporation as its Managing Director with effect from May 2011. He holds a Masters Degree in Business Administration specializing in Strategic Management from Maastricht (MSM)/Esami) and a Bachelors of Science Degree in Financial Services from the University of Manchester.

The AFC boss is an associate of the Chartered Institute of bankers (ACIB) UK and a Fellow of the IFS School of Finance (FIFS). Mr. Meso's experience spans over 20 years in Senior Management positions in the banking sector. He has previously worked for the Central Bank of Kenya, East African Development Bank, Commercial Banks of Africa and the Co-operative Bank of Kenya.

As the AFC team leader, Mr. Meso visualizes transforming the Corporation into a premier class, customer focused agricultural financing outfit where value to stakeholders takes precedence. He envisages a Corporation with extensive service outreach and meaningful impact to the Kenyan agricultural economy.

Indeed besides Busia being perceived as a CORD or ODM zone, it must not be forgotten that other political parties like UDF and URP were able to have their own candidates elected to Parliament as MPs, particularly the MP for Nambale John Sakwa Bunyasi (UDF) and his neighbour in Teso South Mary Emase (URP) including Teso North Arthur Odera.

Ojamong’ has had a long history with CORD/ODM leader Raila Odinga having been his Personal Assistant, a manager in one of the companies owned by the Odinga family and a very loyal supporter.

Therefore it will definitely be a very uphill battle for Dr. Otwoma to first floor Mr. Ojaamong’ in the political party’s nominations of their candidates or primaries before going on to the ballot papers battle ground proper.

Apart from that it must not be forgotten that the Bakhayos and the Teso tend to gang up together in matters concerning critical and conclusive decisions as far as the county is concerned. It should also not be forgotten that Mr. Ojaamong is a nephew of the Bakhayo’s populous clan, the Abaguri where his mother comes from and with that spectre including the tyranny of numbers of the Teso and Bakhayo combined Dr. Otwoma’s chances are very slim.

However that said and done, Ojaamong’ is currently facing serious accusations false or true remains to be proved that although the Tesos and Luhyias of the county had agreed to share the devolution cake equally, the Governor has heavily favoured his Teso community in employment and securing of county government contracts and tenders.

He is being accused of being tribal something that has seen the county government being dominated by people of his tribe and more interestingly 3/4 of the PSs are from his tribe among other factors.

Eng. Sidai who stood on a UDF ticket and though came number two after Ojamong chances of a Teso being voted to become governor by the majority of the Luhya community if they ganged up to vote as a block are minimal hence Eng. Sidai will be safe if he became a running mate of a Luhya.