When Samuel Atandi decided to quit his prestigious Relationships Manager position at National Bank of Kenya to try his hand in politics, little did he know that he was going to be an instant hit in Nyanza's political scene. After all, he was going to face off with veterans who had mastered in the game.
In his quest to take the Alego Usonga MP seat, George Omondi Muluan, the incumbent, was the obstacle. In 2013, little-known Muluan caused an upset when he sent home ODM heavyweight Edwin Yinda in a bitterly-contested race. But Atandi was equal to the task.
The duo's first battle was in the ODM nomination where the winner of the prestigious certificate would have an upper hand to clinch the seat. The newcomer eclipsed the incumbent by a convincing margin. And the seat was his to lose. But Muluan was not just ready to go without a fight. And keen to replicate his 2013 success, he jumped ship to vie as an independent candidate.
Second time unlucky, the incumbent lost the seat to a novice. The giant killer of yester years had met his match and there was no escape route.. And for the fifth consecutive election in the constituency, an incumbent had failed to defend the seat. Will the one-term cycle that has defined the constituency's politics haunt Atandi as well? Time will tell.
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