August 9

House of 30 freshers and five veterans

Friday, August 19th, 2022 02:00 | By
Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen. PHOTO/Courtesy
Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen. PHOTO/Courtesy

Three women, former governors, a number of youths and longest-serving senators. That is the face of the incoming Senate.

The third senate will also comprise persons living with disabilities, lawyers and a number of former senators who served as governors.

Mzalendo Executive Director Caroline Gaita says it is encouraging the Senate has produced new governors, which is a clear indication that devolution is working.

She noted that having some long-serving senators back means there will be continuity adding that they will help the House in completing pending business.

“For those coming back, this is good for continuation because they will be able to finish what they started. As for the old, this is a very high number as we will have an interesting mix, she said.

She added: “At Mzalendo we will keep an eye on Parliament and we will be monitoring what the new Parliament will be up to. We will also follow up on their legislative track.”

Data by Mzalendo, an entity that keeps track of MPs' performance, shows that out of the 47 Senators elected, only 17 who served in the previous Parliament made it back while 30 are new faces.

Of the 17 re-elected, five senators will be serving a third term. They include Moses Wetang’ula who was re-elected as Bungoma senator, Moses Kajwang (Homa Bay), Stewart Madzayo (Kilifi), Kipchumba Murkomen (Elgeyo Marakwet), who served as the Deputy Majority Leader in the 11th Parliament and later as the Majority Leader in the 12th Parliament and Aaron Cheruiyot (Kericho).

Comeback

Wetang’ula won on a Ford Kenya ticket, which is part of the Kenya Kwanza coalition. He briefly served as the Minority Leader in the 11th Parliament.

The other long-serving senators who have made a comeback include Moses Mohamed Faki (Mombasa), Issa Juma Boy (Kwale), Johnes Mwaruma (Taita Taveta), Ledama Ole Kina (Narok), Samson Cherargei (Nandi) and John Kinyua (Laikipia).

Incumbent Garissa Senator Abdulkadir Mohamed Haji also retained his seat.

“UDA has the majority in the Senate with 22 elected Senators followed by ODM with 13 elected members,” reveals the data.

The data shows that three women have been elected as senators just like in the previous senate.

Among those elected include Fatuma Dullo who successfully vied for a second term. She was the Deputy Majority Leader in the previous Senate.

Dullo, who was first elected in 2017, overcame many challenges to become the first woman to be elected senator in the conservative pastoral county.

Agnes Kavindu was also re-elected Machakos senator. She joined the Senate after the death of Boniface Kabaka in December 2020.

Keroche Breweries Chief Executive Tabitha Karanja successfully vied for the Nakuru seat and won after former senator Susan Kihika contested for the governorship position.

Veteran politicians who made it to the Senate include Abass Sheikh Mohamed who was elected Wajir Senator. He formerly served as Wajir East MP from 2013 to 2017.

Governor bid

Former Garsen MP Danson Mungatana, who served between 2007 and 2013 was elected Tana River Senator while Bonny Khalwale bounced back as the Kakamega senator where he served from 2013 to 2017.

Azimio la Umoja leader Raila Odinga’s brother Oburu Odinga has also been elected the Siaya senator. He previously served as Bondo MP from 1997 to 2013 and MP in the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) from 2017.

Those who left their Senate seats to unsuccessfully run for governor include Abdullahi Ali (Wajir), Mithika Linturi (Meru), Ephraim Maina (Nyeri), and Charles Kibiru (Kirinyaga) George Khaniri (Vihiga) and Sam Ongeri (Kisii).

Former senators who won governor seats include Irungu Kang’ata (Murang’a), James Orengo (Siaya), Susan Kihika (Nakuru) and Johnson Sakaja (Nairobi).

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