Former Nominated Senator Joy Gwendo at a past event. [Photo/ nation.co.ke]
In a country where politics is highly tribal, former Jubilee Nominated Senator Joy Gwendo tried to upset the status quo. Gwendo who hails from Kisumu, which is NASA leader Raila Odinga's political turf, became the face of President Uhuru Kenyatta's Jubilee Party in the pro-opposition region during last year's campaigns.Her nomination to the Senate in 2013 by the ruling party took many by surprise. Though many expected her to cross to ODM in the run to the 2017 general election, she remained loyal to her party which she later uses as a political vehicle to contest for the Kisumu East MP seat. In January 2017, pressure was mounting on Gwendo to ditch Uhuru’s camp for ODM. She, however, dismissed the call insisting that she was in Jubilee to stay."I'm in Jubilee Party to stay. The fact that I come from the Luo community does not mean that I must be in NASA or Cord," Gwendo said.In the August 8 poll, the former radio queen lost to incumbent Shakeel Shabbir who was defending the seat as an independent. Her dream to write history as the first elected Jubilee MP in Luo Nyanza might have backfired but her spirited campaign was inspiring.With President Kenyatta set to unveil his full cabinet in the coming days, Gwendo might be another surprise name that could make the cut if the Head of State decides to reward party loyalty as well as maintain regional balance.Is there a newsworthy accident, incident or event happening in Kisumu County that you want Hivisasa to cover? Tell us what is happening by joining this group and have it published. http://bit.ly/2EOgy6Q