Undying spirit, courage and outspokenness. These are probably the rare traits among female politicians in a male dominated political arena. But for Kisumu Women Representative Rosa Buyu, a veteran in the region's politics, her life has been defined by the three traits.
Rosa Buyu is not your ordinary politician. She's a real case of hardwork pays as she has fought her way to where she is today. The politics of freebies is not part of her. And going by that, she can rightfully claim that she is the most powerful woman in Kisumu today.
For a woman who has fought with male politicians with big war chests for over one decade now, the former Interim Independent Electoral Commission Commissioner is in her own class. For two consecutive elections, she was Kisumu Town West MP Olago Aluoch's political headache. Though she lost in two occasions, she fought a good fight.
And in the Raila Odinga-led ODM party, she has cemented her place there. Today, she is the party's deputy organizing secretary, a powerful position for her. At the same time, she has Raila's ear and has won the trust of the former Prime Minister.
She may have just won her first elective seat in 2017, but Buyu is already a phenomenon in Kisumu. Her closeness to her constituents has seen her cement her place in Kisumu politics and going to the next election, the vocal MP looks virtually unbeatable. And by any chance that she loses, that would be one of the biggest political shocks in the history Kisumu politics.