Campaigns for Kasipul parliamentary seat following the murder of MP Charles Ong’ondo Were have kicked off barely three days after the legislator was killed in Nairobi.
Already several names have been proposed for the position with some of those mentioned hitting the ground running to seek support from voters.
Even before the seat is declared vacant by speaker of the National Assembly, Moses Wetangula, Homa Bay Town MP Peter Kaluma proposed one of Were’s family members for the parliamentary seat.
He said ODM should consider awarding one of the late MP’s children the party’s ticket when a by-election is called.
“The family of Were should not vanish from the political scene. Discussions on who will have the party certificate will be held at a later date,” Mr Kaluma said.
A Nairobi based business Philip Aroko is one of the politicians who has been eyeing the seat even before Were's death. Aroko has been a fierce critic of the fallen MP.
Others, who have also shown interest, though not openly, are Okindo Majiwa and Newton Ogada.
The absence of commissioners of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) does not allow the electoral agency to conduct any poll. The recruitment of new commissioners is ongoing.
Some of the constituencies with impending by elections are Ugunja, which was previously represented by Energy Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi, Magarini Constituency, which has remained vacant since March 2024 after the Supreme Court nullified the August 9, 2022 election of Harrison Kombe and Banisa Constituency, which fell vacant following the death of Kullow Hassan in March 2023.
“I was involved in nominating Moses Kajwang in the senate by election in 2016. During our discussions, we settled on him and he has managed to work,” the legislator claimed.
He asked his party, ODM, to involve him in the selection process of the most suitable politician who can take over the parliamentary seat in Kasipul on an ODM ticket.
“Do not hold discussions on who will take over after Were without involving me,” Mr Kaluma told ODM chairperson Gladys Wanga.
According to the legislator, he may have the best proposal on who can lead Kasipul.
“I have no powers of making the final decision as it will be decided between baba (Raila Odinga) and Wanga. But I would just like to be part of the meeting,” the legislator said.
Should ODM resort to give certificate to a member of Were's family, the candidate will join other politicians who have inherited leadership from their parents or siblings after death.
They include Homa Bay Senator Moses Kajwang, who was first elected in a by-election in 2016 after the death of his brother Gerald Otieno Kajwang the previous year.
Makueni Governor Mutula Kilonzo Junior was also elected after the death of his father Mutula Kilonzo.
Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi contested and won a by-election in Sabatia Constituency after the death of his father, Moses Mudavadi, in 1989.
The Democratic Action Party of Kenya (DAP-K) party leader Eugene Wamalwa contested and won the Saboti parliamentary seat after the death of his brother, Michael Kijana Wamalwa, who was the Vice President of Kenya at the time.
