Kenya: Ugunja Parliamentary By Election Attracts 7 Aspirants

10 September 2025
Capital FM (Nairobi)
By Ojwang Joe

Kisumu — Seven candidates have declared interest in succeeding Energy Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi, as the next Member of Parliament for Ugunja in the upcoming by-election slated for November 27, 2025.

Wandayi vacated the seat after being appointed to President William Ruto's Kenya Kwanza government, having been nominated by the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party.

Among those eyeing the seat are Chris Budo, lawyer MJ Okumu, businessman Joseph Aluru, Eng. Fredrick Owino, Fredrick Oyugi Dor, former constituency manager Moses Omondi, and Sam Okoyo.

Keep up with the latest headlines on WhatsApp | LinkedIn

CS Wandayi is reportedly backing his former constituency manager, Moses Omondi, to secure the ODM nomination.

However, it remains unclear how many of the aspirants have officially paid the nomination fees to the party.

Meanwhile, Chris Budo has declared his intention to run on a Democratic Action Party of Kenya (DAP-K) ticket, a party associated with former Defence Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa.

Fredrick Oyugi Dor, who was perceived to be the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) candidate, recently suffered a setback when President William Ruto announced that UDA will not field a candidate in the Ugunja by-election.

During a recent visit to Siaya County, President Ruto emphasized that the Kenya Kwanza Coalition, together with ODM, has agreed to back a single candidate in the interest of national unity and political cohesion.

"We are going to have a by-election here in Ugunja, and we have agreed, as ODM, UDA, and Kenya Kwanza, that we will field one candidate," President Ruto said.

Given ODM's strong support in the region, the party is expected to play a central role in nominating the consensus candidate.

This political arrangement is expected to shift local alliances ahead of the 2027 General Election in Nyanza region.

As the campaign season heats up, the candidates have intensified grassroots mobilization across the Constituency, once part of Ugenya Constituency, while also leveraging on social media to woo voters.

Read the original article on Capital FM.

Tagged:
Copyright © 2025 Capital FM. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.

AllAfrica publishes around 600 reports a day from more than 90 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.

Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.