Khwisero MP Christopher Aseka seeks to break one-term jinx
The Khwisero parliamentary race is one of the interesting contests to watch as incumbent Christopher Aseka, who was elected in 2017, fights the constituency’s one-term jinx.
Since the constituency’s creation in 1997, no MP has been re-elected.
Khwisero is one of the constituencies in Kakamega County and has been served by four MPs since its formation.
With a total of 55,091 registered voters, Khwisero has four wards: Kisa East, Kisa Central, Kisa West and Kisa North.
Mr Harrison Aywa served as the first MP elected on a Kanu ticket in 1997. He lost to Mr Julius Arunga in the 2002 General Election.
Mr Arunga of the National Rainbow Coalition (Narc) lost to Mr Evans Akula, who vied on an Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) ticket in 2007 but faced the same fate in 2013 in a contest against Mr Benjamin Andola.
In 2017, Mr Aseka, who contested on an Amani National Congress (ANC) ticket, trounced Mr Andola, who was seeking re-election on an ODM ticket.
The ‘Earthquake’
Mr Aseka, alias Miradi (projects), ditched ANC after its party leader Musalia Mudavadi announced the ‘Earthquake’ in January and joined ODM.
He is facing Mr Godfrey Kanoti of ANC in the August polls.
Mr Aseka believes his development track record will propel him to a win during the August 9 General Election against a trend that saw none of his predecessors serve for more than one term.
Khwisero is one of the constituencies with a history of punishing serving legislators.
“We’re not tiring and are very much actively delivering projects that improve and change our people’s lives. It’s evident that we have, and will continue to deliver, because we want to ensure that Khwisero shines,” he said.
The legislator is credited for many development projects that have assisted the disabled, women and orphans.
“We’ve covered seven markets with street lights that we launched in March this year and have connected more than 5,000 households to electricity in Khwisero since 2017. Besides improving school infrastructure, we’re helping needy children through award of concrete bursary assistance,” he added.
“Because of building houses for widows and orphans and changing the face of schools in Khwisero from mud-walled to storey buildings, he may win the seat again and serve for another term,” Mr Benson Andale, a resident says.
Mr Andale believes that Mr Aseka’s predecessors missed a second term because they did not make proper use of the Constituency Development Funds.
“Mr Aseka has built storey buildings at Eshibinga, Mulwanda, Khwisero Girls, Emwaniro, Ikomero, and Eshinutsa, among other locations, and has given the constituency a new dawn. Many people are happy with his development record and may give him another term,” he adds.
Mr Aseka was feted in the County Gala Awards 2022, now in its fourth year, as the best performing MP in Kakamega County.
Mr Peter Kasiri, another resident, says the one-term curse that befell the former MPs is due to the fact that they failed to perform to the expectation of the electorate.
“Mr Aseka is a good politician who is focused on changing the lives of Khwisero people. He has the ability to read the prevailing political mood, and this may save him from the one-term jinx,” he opines.
Political analyst Martin Oloo argues that the fact that the three MPs were voted out after serving for only five years is an indication that voters are independent-minded and are not swayed by political euphoria.
‘Punish them’
“It’s clear that the incumbents were judged on their performance and actions. Voters record the wrongs committed by an individual in office and punish them at the ballot and that is how the legislators were kicked out,” he says.
To boost his bid, Mr Aseka has intensified his campaigns with the backing of Governor Wycliffe Oparanya and Central Organisation of Trade Unions (Cotu) Secretary-General Francis Atwoli, who are key allies of Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition presidential candidate Raila Odinga.
Mr Nicolas Lukoye said that, Mr Aseka’s move from ANC to ODM increased his chances of winning re-election because the region is leaning towards the Azimio coalition and its candidate, Mr Odinga.
However, his detractors argue the MP concentrated too much on infrastructural development at the expense of empowering residents.
Mr Arunga, a former MP, claims poverty is at its highest in the constituency because area residents have not been empowered to uplift their standards of living.
He describes Khwisero residents as “among the poorest because they lack income-generating projects and the leadership is doing nothing about it”.
He cites agriculture, trade and skills development as areas Mr Aseka has neglected. “His focus is on uplifting infrastructure in schools,” Mr Arunga said.
Mr Kanoti of ANC, who is seeking to unseat Mr Aseka, said many things are not going right in the constituency under the watch of the incumbent.
“The allocation of storey classrooms in schools is biased because many schools that are not in his locality are still reeling under hardships. He must face the wrath of the electorate on August 9 so that Khwisero gets someone who will serve all equitably,” Mr Kanoti says.
Thousands of young people in the constituency, he adds, are trapped in financial woes because there are no job opportunities or business activities to engage them.
“I promise to change this via prayer and innovation so that Khwisero gets cottage industries that will offer job opportunities to a majority of the youth, who are languishing under alcohol and drugs,” he said. BY DAILY NATION

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