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JOSEPH OYUGI MAGWANGA: HIDDEN STRENGTH BEHIND THE SOFT MIEN His unique tactics in politics and astute management skills have raised stakes in Homa Bay County’s gubernatorial contest. But the soft-spoken and controversy-shy second time legislator is usually underated until he proves his critics wrong. His decision to contest for the county’s presidency in the forthcoming general election (2017)has set tongues wagging as to who exactly Joseph Oyugi Magwanga is and what he stands for. Wuon Ochieng’—his famous sobriquet—was born in Kakelo Location, East Kasipul, in 966. The fourth child of Mzee Joseph Magwanga Owuorand Mama Risper Okwacho exhibited leadership and entrepreneurship qualities as a child. He would grow up to defy the village odds and represent the expansive Kasipul Kabondo and later Kasipul constituencies in the National Assembly. Magwanga sat his class eight examination at God Ber Primary School in 1973. That year he was the head boy. In 1974 he joined Ringa Secondary school. When he was six years old, he lost his mother and was brought up by his step mother and disciplinarian father. He burnt his right arm when he was nine years old and had to endure excruciating pain for months because the nearest hospital was 15 kilometers away in Kisii. Balancing school and treatment meant he could only trek to the hospital for dressing on weekends. That pain and suffering instilled a strong resolve in his heart to change his community as an adult. He practiced horticulture, reared poultry and cattle as well as weaving granary using twigs for income. While in high school, he also worked in his elder brother’s pharmacy, Jokamama Medicals which was later named Oyugis Pharmaceuticals. At Ringa he was a strong member of Christian Union. After Form Four, he joined Kenya Polytechnic and pursued Certificate in ACNC after which he joined Strathmore College where he graduated with Diploma in CPA in 1984. Magwanga got employed by Kenya National Trading Corporation in Nairobi as an accountant in 1985 and later transferred to Kisii branch. He opted out of the job after six years and ventured into his own businesses in 1991. The aggressive and astute entrepreneur identified a niche in his home area that saw him start Kowuor Woodworks, then the only modern furniture shop in Oyugis town which supplied state-of-the-art furniture to Credit Africa in Nyanza and Western regions. He brought in skilled artisans from Ukambani who trainednumerous youths hitherto operating furniture shops in Nyanza region and beyond. Magwangaalso bought land in Oyugis town where he started St. Joseph Combined Academy whose chairmanship he holds to date. His hands-on management style saw the pioneer academy become the best institution in the entire South Nyanza region. From early 90s till 2007 when he went to parliament, he served as the deputy director of Matata Nursing Home in Oyugis. While at Matata, he came face to face with abysmal sufferings of the people when running HIV and other social health awareness campaigns in Kasipul Kabondo. On most occasions he was compelled to waiver mortuary bills, donate coffins from his shop and transport bodies for burial using his own vehicles. This gesture endeared him to the people and realising that the same suffering he had underwent as a child had not been alleviated, Magwanga ventured into active politics to bring change. In 2005, the ailing Peter Owidi who was the area MP, appointed Magwanga as the coordinator of the ‘NO’ campaigns in Kasipul Kabondo. Magwanga excelled in the task, becoming second nationally after William Ruto’s Eldoret North constituency in terms of votes. When Owidi died in 2006, Magwanga chaired the legislator’s funeral committee. Magwanga’s admirers prevailed upon him to contest in the ensuing by election but he decided to become Paddy Ahenda’s chief campaigner. However, in 2007, he could not resist the pressure so he contested for the Kasipul Kabondo parliamentary seat and easily won. He retained the seat in 2013, becoming the MP for Kasipul after the expansive constituency had been subdivided into Kasipul and Kabondo Kasipul. He has served in parliamentary select committees on Health, Energy and Naural Resources and Education and ICT. In his first term, Hon. Magwanga initiated several development projects in the expansive constituency,and buoyed by their success, he enrolled for a Bachelor’s degree in Projects Management at the University of Nairobi to sharpen his managerial skills. Emerging with Second Class Upper, the ambitious legislator enrolled for his Master’s degree in the same institution. Hon. Magwanga takes pride in several achievements as MP. In the tenth parliament, he emerged third out of 210 MPs in public funds management and general development, while in the eleventh; he is number two out of 290 colleagues. The NG-DCF board has also identified Kasipul as a model constituency. Magwanga has bought school buses for all public secondary schools in Kasipul. All secondary and primary schools in the constituency have permanent structures. All chiefs in Kasipul have an additional motorcycle, revolving chairs and modern office cabinets to supplement national government’s effort. He has streamlined bursary funds allocation, built vocational training centres, built health centres, opened up roads and sunk over twenty four boreholes in Kasipul among other achievements. Apart from establishing the MTC at RachuonyoLevel 4 Hospital, he also spearheaded the division of Kasipul Kabondo constituency into Kasipul and KabondoKasipul constituencies in 2013. He further spearheaded the division and retaining of the name Rachuonyo hence Rachuonyo East, Rachuonyo West and Rachuonyo North devolved administrative regions. However, Hon. Magwanga’s critics blame his silence in parliamentary debates, but he is quick to quip: ‘My name hasn’t featured on the list of shame with MPs who don’t contribute in parliament.’ He says he’d rather address his people’s concerns using actions instead of verbose rhetoric, the same style of management he promises to replicate as Homa Bay governor.