Vihiga Senator George Khaniri will be missed in the national assembly for the next five years, unless fate turns fortunes in his favour.
The long-serving legislator, who has served 26 years, was first elected to Parliament in 1996 at the age of 24 to represent Hamisi constituency in a by-election following the demise of his father, Nechodemus Khaniri.
He served as the area Member of Parliament (MP) uninterrupted by successfully defending the seat for 17 years until 2013, when the elections were held under the Constitution of Kenya (CoK) 2010 which paved the way for devolved governments.
The vocal politician, now 50, resolved to contest for the senatorial seat which he won becoming the first senator and went on to win a second term in the 2017 election.
During August 9 General Election, Mr. Khaniri entered the race for the county gubernatorial seat on the United Democratic Party (UDP) ticket, but lost to the incumbent Dr. Wilber Ottichilo of Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party.
He came third after garnering 28,496 votes against Dr. Ottichillo’s 82, 313 votes. Moses Akaranga of Progressive Party of Kenya (PPK) was second with 42,432, while the Amani National Congress (ANC)’s Alfred Agoi was fourth with 26,088 votes.
After two and half decades as a career politician, it will definitely take him time to adjust to the scenario he now finds himself in.
By Sammy Mwibanda
