Former Street Boy Ready to Unseat Oburu Odinga as Siaya Senator
- It seems that the next edition of Kenya's Parliament post-2027 will comprise new blood as young aspirants emerge to dislodge the old-order politicians
- Nick Ongoro is one of the young hopefuls; he's eyeing the Siaya senatorial seat in the upcoming general election
- The 27-year-old told TUKO.co.ke that he was inspired by the apparent gaps in the incumbency, arguing that he is the best fit to change things for the better
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The Kenyan youthfolk are walking the talk as they lay strategies to get into the leadership spaces to actively effect the change they have been agitating for.
Source: Facebook
Nick Ongoro is one of the ambitious young citizens who are preparing to face off with the old-order politicians who have successively dominated the politics of post-independent Kenya.
Ongoro will be debuting in elective politics in the 2027 General Election.
He has trained his focus on the Siaya senatorial seat.
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Why Nick Ongoro wants to be in Senate
The 27-year-old's ambition is fueled by the urge for a transformed Kenya in governance terms.
He says he identified leadership gaps that can only be addressed by new blood and viable ideas that are consistent with the emerging trends.
Ongoro wants to influence policies that will positively impact not only his Siaya constituents but Kenya as a whole.
"I will be a young senator who will be happy to see a prosperous motherland in terms of good governance. My main focus will be to give a proper representation for the people of Siaya county and provide oversight as an assurance of service delivery to the people. I also see a vacuum in our county leadership that can only be filled by young, intelligent, energetic people of my calibre," he told TUKO.co.ke.
Why should Siaya voters elect Ongoro as their senator?
Ongoro goes into the ring fully aware of the expectations of the electorate, and the roles stipulated for a senator; he therefore won't fail his electors, he said.
He further observes that with the changing world and needs, only young, visionary, and energetic leaders are fit to deal with the status quo.
The aspirant draws inspiration from the current crop of legislators who have built their profiles by strongly agitating for governance change in the interest of the masses.
"The Senate needs energetic and sober young people, that's why you see young people like Senator Edwin Sifuna, and Aaron Cheruiyot, among others, doing very well in articulating matters of national interest. I pray that the good people of Siaya give me a chance with the senate position, and sure, I shall not disappoint my people, because I have a dream and the journey is beyond just Senate, trust me," he said to this writer.
He is upbeat that he will go past the strong establishments and connections within the ODM party to secure the ticket at the primaries.
The current senator, Oburu Odinga, is known to be among the influential members of ODM owing to his closeness to his younger brother, Raila Odinga, the party leader.
Ongoro is hopeful he will convince the members of the party at the grassroots to help him get the party ticket.
Resilience and determination have epitomised his journey thus far.
Source: Twitter
How Nick Ongoro went past life challenges
He recently celebrated a feat in education; he scored a mean grade of C+ in the 2024 Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE).
Ongoro registered as a private candidate after dropping out in his earlier stages of basic education.
He dropped out of primary school in 2012 due to financial problems; he lived with his grandfather, who could not afford his education at that time.
The grandfather helped him secure a farmhand job, which he did for a short while before quitting.
He later made his way to Nairobi, where he became a street child.
Ongoro stayed in the Nairobi streets until he met a good Samaritan who helped him try his hand at music.
He recorded two songs and embarked on selling them across the city in 2013.
It was during that venture that he met Nairobi governor Johnson Sakaja, who was then a TNA-nominated MP.
Sakaja helped him go back to school; he wrote his Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) in 2018 and posted 286 marks out of a possible 500.
He would then start a construction business and focus on it until it picks up.
Ongoro later registered as a KCSE private candidate in 2024 and rigorously homeschooled himself ahead of the national examination.
Law is among the disciplines he hopes to undertake at the university.
Proofreading by Mercy Nyambura, copy editor at TUKO.co.ke.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
