Since independence, Kisumu has been at the heart of Nyanza politics with majority of the politicians from the lakeside city leaving an indelible mark at both the local and national scene. So who are the these political legends from Kisumu?
There is no doubt that Dr.John Robert Ouko is the greatest politician ever to come from Kisumu. Throughout his political life, Ouko who was first nominated to Parliament in 1977 before winning the Kisumu Rural constituency seat in 1979 had distinguished himself as brilliant diplomat more than a politician.
He became an influential figure both in President Jomo Kenyatta and President Daniel Moi regimes. It was his political sharpness that earned him the trust of Moi. Before his contentious murder in 1990 February, Dr. Ouko was Kenya's diplomatic motor.
When she became the first Mayor of Kisumu in 1960s, more was to follow. And 1969, Grace Onyango made history when she became the first ever female MP in post-independent Kenya when she won the Kisumu town MP seat. She went on to serve until 1983 when she finally lost the seat. With this history-making political journey, Mrs. Onyango is a legend.
With Kisumu County struggling to find a perfect replacement of Dr. Ouko after his death in 1990, then stepped an educated and brilliant but radical man, Prof. Peter Anyang Nyong'o. He won the Kisumu Rural constituency seat in 1992- the seat that was once held by Ouko. Since then, the Makerere University-trained political scientist has cemented his place in Kisumu's history books.
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