ODM leader Raila Odinga. [Photo/ voa news]

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A politician from Ugenya has revealed how his fortunes in politics came to an abrupt end when he met NASA flag-bearer, Raila Odinga. 

Mr Steve Mwanga, who spent hundreds of millions of shillings in his campaigns in rural Nyanza, says Raila noticed him when he was in Kisumu with a convoy of 40 SUVS during a past campaign. “I was told that Raila wanted to meet me. He was asking people about me and how I made my money because I was pulling bigger crowds than him,” Mr Mwanga told the Nairobian in an exclusive interview. That was when he was campaigning with three choppers every weekend for a year for an MCA seat in Ugenya. Accusing Raila of insincerity, he claimed the ODM party denied him the nomination certificate and dispatched a team to ensure he lost in the by-election. “The next day (after meeting Raila), helicopters with 12 ODM MPs camped for one week in Ugenya, campaigning for an MCA. I joined Jubilee, but the ODM candidate won,” he said. Mwanga, who says he is against everything that Raila stands for, told the Nairobian that President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto are among his friends who have stood by him during tough times. “I knew Ruto way back, almost ten years ago. He is a close friend. Uhuru has always been there for me. When I was broke, and down to my last shilling, they, among other friends like Tuju and others kept me going.”