When he shot into political limelight after the 2002 general election, little did the newly-elected Butere Member of Parliament Wycliffe Oparanya expect to become of the country's leading political lights 18 years later.
Perhaps the manner of his win could give a hint of better days ahead for this accomplished accountant. In that election, he had thrashed the incumbent and Cabinet Minister Dr Amukowa Anangwe. That win, in a way, was a sign of better days ahead. Since then, Oparanya has simply refused to disappear from the political scene.
Today, the Kakamega Governor finds himself right at the centre of "Mulembe politics". Politicians have come and disappeared into oblivion. But the ODM deputy party leader has simply become "too strong for defeat".
For 10 years, he served as Butere MP, where after the 2007 general election, he was roped into the cabinet in the newly-formed grand coalition government led by President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga. It was then that Raila and Oparanya forged a very close relationship.
During the 2013 election, Oparanya would go for Kakamega Governor's seat, which he won with a landslide.
As an emerging political giant in the country, the soft-spoken governor confirmed his political muscle when he crushed his local rival Senator Boni Khalwale in the 2017 gubernatorial race.
His development record as Kakamega Governor has helped boost his image.
Now, he has set his eyes on the presidency. He could be the first Kenyan President from Western Kenya.
In 2019, his rising political profile and influence saw him elected Council of Governors chairman.
With handshake and Building Bridges Initiative politics dominating the political scene today ahead of 2022, Oparanya finds himself right at the centre of 2022 political mix.
As a host of BBI political debate in his county on January 18, the 63-year-old could be preparing for his future life in politics after the end of his tenure as governor.The sterling rise of Wycliffe Oparanya in Kenyan politics