(Former Taita Taveta Women Rep. Joyce Lay. She lost her senatorial bid in Taita Taveta (Photo/the-star.co.ke)
She was one of the most vocal Members of the 11th Parliament.But sadly, Joyce Wanjala Lay who was Taita Taveta Women Representative in the National Assembly will not be able to make contribution in the 12th Parliament.
Elected on an ODM ticket in 2013, but when Jubilee Party came calling, Lay joined Senator Dan Mwazo in ditching the Raila Odinga-led outfit in the run to the August 8 elections.
Lay's decision to join the Jubilee bandwagon was part of the wider scheme by the Uhuru Kenyatta-led party to weaken the opposition in the region with Kenya Ports Authority chairman Masden Madoka and Taveta MP Naomi Shaban being the architects of Jubilee's poaching of ODM members.
With his fellow ODM rebel Dan Mwazo declaring her interest in the Governor position, Lay was set to replace him as the county Senator with both using Jubilee as their political vehicle to springboard their ambitions.
Political pundits at the time believed that Lay's decision to join the President's party would shake the political dynamics in the county which ODM had dominated.
With Lay being considered as one of the front runners for the Senator seat, her biggest political headache was ODM's Johnes Mwaruma who had just beaten Richard Tairo in the party primaries.
After IEBC released it final tally, Mwaruma had won the seat after garnering 42,322 votes to beat Lay who came second with 34,403 votes.
Though she remains one of the most popular politicians in the county, her decision to leave ODM for Jubilee is to blame for loss. And with President Kenyatta expected to face off with NASA leader Raila Odinga in the repeat presidential poll in October 26, Lay's political lifeline is pegged on the outcome of that contest.