Statistics released on Wednesday about Members of Parliament show that a majority of the legislators who are re-elected after their first term in the House rarely serve a third one.
Speaking during a parliamentary post-election Seminar in Mombasa, Rongo MP Dalmas Otieno, who has over 30 years experience in politics explained that being a politician was a high casualty career.
The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) MP disclosed that out of the 349 members, 55 percent (192 MPs) were serving their first term while 122, which is 35 percent, were currently in their second term.
[caption caption="Rongo MP Dalmas Otieno "]
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However, only a mere 25 members (7.1 percent) were in their third term which drastically drops to nine MPs in their fourth terms accounting for 2.6 percent of the total number.
During the seminar, Otieno advised MPs to find a balance between public and personal interests to survive the brutal election cycles.
"You must learn to entrench the concept of good governance in your conscience and not allow anyone to remove it from there. Some of you are expected to be more loyal to the Party leader more than your electorate. That cannot work.
"We need to develop better legislation. A high number of amendments to a legislation could be a good indication that that particular legislation was weak," he elucidated.
He concluded: "If you sought to be a member of Parliament hoping to make more money, you will be disappointed. The truth is that you will spend more than you earn."
Kitutu Chache North MP Jimmy Angwenyi is the longest serving MP and the only one in the House who has served five terms.
Kenyans.co.ke, sought to establish the cause of such a high casualty rate among politicians.
A major factor was alignment with the wrong party prior to the elections, a fate that, for instance, befell former Mwingi Central MP Joe Mutambo who got elected in 2013 under the Wiper party.
[caption caption="former Mwingi Central MP Joe Mutambo "]
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However, in 2017 he sided with Jubilee and lost his seat.
Similarly, former Gem MP Jakoyo Midiwo was handed an electoral beating after losing favour with his party over a power struggle in the Nyanza region.
Another reason is losing in popularity among the voters, as during the 2017 party primaries, 22 legislators were trounced by newcomers or people who were keen to make a comeback.
Casualties during the 2017 party primaries included: Dennis Waweru (Dagoretti South), Esther Murugi (Nyeri Town), Jacob Macharia (Molo), Wesley Korir (Cherangany), Kabando Wa-Kabando (Mukurweini), Cecily Mbarire (Runyenjes), Mary Wambui (Othaya), Samuel Chepkong'a (Ainabkoi) among others.
Some MPs were able to take their political careers to a higher level; a good example being Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho, the once Kisauni MP.
[caption caption="Hassan Joho and Raila Odinga"]
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Several other lawmakers have vied for higher electoral seats like former Ugenya MP, the current Siaya Senator James Orengo, and Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko, who started of as Makadara MP and as Nairobi Senator during the 2013 elections.
