Alex Akugo emerged the ODM nominee who will be vying in the by-election for Central Kanyamkago ward on the 22nd of March 2017 after he beat four other contestants to clinch the ODM certificate as the party held nominations on Saturday.
The seat fell vacant following the demise of area MCA Michael Osongo who died on September 26 last year following a long struggle with throat cancer.
Akugo won by 1,994 votes narrowly beating his biggest competitor Ken Nyamita who got 1,935 in a battle that was touted as a gauge of Uriri Supremacy between Governor Obado and Mark Nyamita the gubernatorial aspirant who both come from Uriri Sub-County.
This is because Akugo the nominee is the brother to Dominic Akugo, the Director of Administration and Governance in the Office of the Governor while Ken Nyamita is the younger brother to Mark Nyamita as both Dominic and Mark were earnestly campaigning for their kin.
The competition also brought about the underlying rivalry between the natives of Kanyamkago and the “jodak,” that is the non- natives of Kanyamkago.
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“This is a lesson to the non- natives where Nyamita hails from, out of the aspirants, only Akugo is a native but the jodak split votes by fronting four others, they should have thrown their weight behind one of them,” a senior politician from the area said.
Other than Ken Nyamita, Akugo floored former councilor Godfrey Odera, NGO employee Paul Ambayo and banker Dan Oyugi.
Alex Akugo thanked the party and the people for the nomination.
“I want to be the unifying factor between the other aspirants, the natives and the non- natives,” he said.
Akugo will battle it out with Oketch Oketch who is vying as an independent candidate on the 22nd of March.
ODM officials in the County led by the County Chairman Philip Makabong’o lauded the exercise and expressed pride for how the exercise had been conducted.
“This nomination exercise was litmus test and we are happy that it was credible, fair and transparent,” Makabong’o said.
Uriri MP John Kobado shared the same sentiments positing that the nominations have set precedence for what to expect in the ODM nominations for the general elections set to begin next month.
“As local leaders, we are proud of Uriri and Migori County because contrary to the happenings before, there has been no chaos or corruption. The results are the true reflection of the desire of the people.”
