By Isaiah Andanje
The residents of Malava constituency appear to have settled on the Secretary-General of the Kenya National Union of Nurses (KNUN), Seth Panyako, as their preferred next Member of Parliament, judging by the reception he receives whenever he attends any function in the constituency.
Mr Panyako received cheers and jubilations last weekend when he attended a funeral service for retired teacher Christine Imbogo in Chemuche Ward, where the mourners pampered him with praise, urging him to save them from MP Malulu Injendi’s bad leadership, whom they claim is a sellout after voting yes for the controversial Finance Bill in parliament and the introduction of fake fertiliser.
The vibrant and outspoken leader narrowly lost to Malulu in the 2023 general election by a disputed 200-vote margin. He filed a petition against the results, but the court ruled in favour of the incumbent. He is now being seen as the best option as MP against the third-term area MP. Residents claim the MP has since gone (AWOL) after the now-famous generation (Gen Z) mounted the ongoing “RReject Malulu Movement” in the Malava constituency after he voted yes in parliament. Panyako said the constituency has no tangible development, and the MP only brags about using National Government constituency development funds (NG_CDF), where he coerces parents to vote for him in return for a Ksh. 2, 000 bursary gift per child.
“Malava is the largest constituency in Kakamega, but it lags behind in development as the MP, despite controlling CDF monies, has no project he has initiated, 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, and that is why the people are revolting against him. We have first-time MPs who have done so much for their people, compared to our third-time leader who is still being bought in parliament to pass bills that even hurt his own people.”
He even surprised the public after he told them that the finance bill was advocating for the repossession of their lands if they failed to remit land tax, a thing they rejected with insults and curses directed at their MP. The leader also expressed his concerns over the permitting and cane harvesting issues still haunting the Malava farmers, despite them having two (West Kenya and Butali sugar) Miller’s. The rebates from them were not benefiting the farmers, with the Miller’s subjecting them to a lot of unnecessary circuses in acquiring permits and harvesting, where cane is not lifted days after being harvested, leading to their tonnage reduction.
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 weigh the cane 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 for the quality of sucrose in their canes, which is more profitable to the farmers than the current tonnage measurements.
He said the sugar industry should be streamlined, 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 leaders of the leaders of the western region of not stopping the directive, unlike leaders of 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.
