Two decades ago, former Gem MP Jakoyo Midiwo was among Nyanza's political heavyweights. But times change, the former Minority Leader is now facing race against time to bring his political career back on track.
Midiwo, who is NASA leader Raila Odinga's first cousin announced his arrival into the Kenyan political scene in the 2002 general election when he trounced the then Gem MP Joe Donde. From there, his political statute grew and he literally became unbeatable.
A key member of Raila's inner circle, there was say that "when you hear Midiwo speaking, then that is Raila speaking". This alone underscored his growing influence in Odinga's political life.
After successfully defending his seat in 2007 and 2013, Midiwo's biggest political challenge came in 2017. His longtime rival, little-known Elisha Odhiambo was plotting for his downfall.
In what can be likened with the Biblical Goliath versus David war, Midiwo was shocked after losing to Odhiambo in the race for the ODM ticket in the party nominations.
Midiwo never recovered from the shocking loss. He decided to run as an independent candidate but his rival confirmed that he's the new king of Gem as he overwhelmingly won the August 8 contest.
Midiwo rushed to Court to challenge the win but his appeal was dismissed leaving his political career hanging on the balance.
Going into 2022 polls, will the once Raila's blue-eyed boy recover? Time will tell