Boost for Panyako as Malava residents throw weight behind him to unseat Malulu

_{By Andanje Wakhungu.}

A section of residents of Malava constituency have settled on Seth Panyako as their preferred candidate to unseat the embattled current MP Malulu Injendi.

Panyako who is the Secretary general for the Kenya National Union of Nurses (KNUN) was received with cheers and jubilations when he arrived to attend a funeral service of a retired teacher Christine Imbogo in Chemuche ward where the mourners pampered him with praise urging him to save them from bad leadership.

They have termed the current MP as a sellout after he decided to save Agriculture CS Mithika Linturi from impeachment and recently, for the controversial Finance Bill 2024 against the wishes of his constituents.

The vibrant and outspoken leader who narrowly lost to Malulu in the 2022 General Election by disputed 200 votes leading to him filing a petition against the results before the courts ruled in favour of the incumbent, is now being seen as the best option the constituency has to wrestle the seat from the third term MP.

The MP has gone missing from the constituency after a local Gen Z youths mounted a vicious ‘Reject Malulu’ campaign after his Yes vote for the now withdrawn bill.

Panyako has since indicated that he is ready to take up the task if they assure him of their support and vowed to listen and act to their wishes.

He said the constituency has no tangible development and the MP only brags using National Government Constituency Development Funds (NG-CDF) where he coerces parents to vote for him on return for Ksh.2, 000 bursary per child with construction of single or double classroom with the same constituency funds after which he dishes out Ksh100 to the women to capture their political commitment to him.

“Malava is the largest constituency in Kakamega but it lags behind in development as the MP, despite the CDF monies, he has no other project he has initiated of his own and his recent move to vote in support of punitive bills economically hurting the common mwananchi has clearly shown that he is in parliament to satisfy his own greed and not to deliver to his constituents,” Panyako said.

“And that is why the people are revolting against him, we have first time MPs who have done so much to their people compared to our third-term leader who is still being bought in parliament to pass bills that even hurts his own people,” he added.

He even surprised the public after he told them that the finance bill was advocating for the repossessing of their lands if they fail to remit land tax a thing they rejected with insults and curses directed to their MP.

At the same time, Panyako expressed his concerns over the issuing of permits and cane harvesting issues still haunting the Malava farmers despite them having two (West Kenya and Butali sugar) millers.

The rebates from them were not benefitting the farmers with the millers subjecting them to a lot of un necessary circus in acquiring permit and harvesting where some farmers’ canes fail to be lifted days after being harvested leading to its tonnage reducing.

Panyako has further vowed to introduce mobile weighbridges at the farms to bring sanity and transparency to farmers and curb the current scenario where it’s the millers who weighs the canes tonnage in the absence of the farmer contrary to what the sugar bill stipulates.

He also promised to implement the much suggested sucrose content initiative where farmers will be paid by the quality of sucrose in their canes that is more profitable to the farmers than the current tonnage measurements.

He said the sugar industry if streamlined where the recent requirement where farmers have to attach their Kra pin to their cane permit for revenue deduction is meant to further exploit the farmers as already the miller has deducted his share.

He called on the government to reconsider the idea accusing the western region leaders for not stopping the directive unlike leaders from the tea and coffee farmers who have ensured their farmers enjoy benefits from their produce.

He called on the constituents to register more voters so that come 2027, they make the right decision.