James Opiyo Wandayi
James Opiyo Wandayi | |
|---|---|
| File:James Opiyo Wandayi.jpg | |
| Preceded by | John Mbadi |
| Constituency | Ugunja |
| Member of Parliament | |
| Minority Leader of The Kenya National Assembly | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | James Opiyo Wandayi 22 June 1972 (age 51) Muhola, Sidindi Ward |
| Citizenship | Kenya |
| Nationality | Kenyan |
| Political party | Orange Democratic Movement ODM |
| Alma mater | University of Nairobi Kenya Institute of Management Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology Daystar University |
| Occupation | Politician |
James Opiyo Wandayi MGH, CBS, MP (born 22 June 1972) is an Agricultural and Development Economist and Kenyan politician currently serving as a member of parliament representing the Ugunja Constituency in Siaya County[1] in the National Assembly of Kenya, having been its first elected MP since the formation of the new Constituency in 2013. He is also the current Leader of Minority in the National Assembly of Kenya, a position he has held since September 2022.
Corporate career
All along, Wandayi had harboured the desire to pursue a career in the corporate world. So, in July 1998, he left his assignment in Parliament, took leave from politics and joined British American Tobacco (BAT) Kenya[2] as a field officer in the Leaf Department.
While in BAT, Wandayi served in Migori and Kuria regions first before moving to Bungoma in 2000 to head the company’s Training and Research Centre based at Malakisi. Soon thereafter, he became the company’s manager responsible for the entire Western Kenya leaf business, a role he played until 2007 when he was transferred to Thika. In 2008, Wandayi was promoted to the position of Operations Manager for leaf business in Kenya, based in Thika. In 2011, he moved to BAT headquarters in Nairobi from where he managed a global business systems project – shuttling between Nairobi and London. In 2012, Wandayi was sent on a two-year international assignment as the Leaf Business Sustainability Manager for Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, based in Kampala.
In this and previous roles, he developed and implemented excellent communication and engagement strategies with governments, the public, the media and other stakeholders for successful execution of business plans. He also provided leadership to teams comprising people of diverse backgrounds and specializations to consistently deliver on key business objectives.
In February 2013, Wandayi resigned, halfway through his international assignment, from BAT to make a return to active politics and, in the following month, successfully contested the newly created Ugunja Constituency parliamentary seat (hived off the former Ugenya Constituency). He was back, with a bang, to familiar territory after a 15-year corporate adventure.
Kenya National Assembly First Time: 2013-2017
In his first term, during the 11th Parliament, Wandayi quickly emerged as the face of the radical wing of ODM. He teamed up with a handful of other opposition legislators to give the Jubilee leadership sleepless nights with their virulent and sustained attacks on the ruling party, both inside and outside the National Assembly. Matters came to a head on the 31st March 2016 when Wandayi and his group almost stopped President Uhuru Kenyatta from delivering his State of the Nation address from the floor of the National Assembly[3]. Had everyone in the wider ODM team played according to the script, they would have succeeded.
Apparently, the plan was to trigger a chain of actions and reactions that would eventually snowball into a crisis and make the country ungovernable. As it turned out, Wandayi paid the heaviest price, even though it’s understood he had prepared for worse; after being violently ejected from the precincts of Parliament, he was slapped with a full year suspension, the longest ever in the history of the Commonwealth. He, however, returned to Parliament after some four months on the strength of a court order. All this time, he remained defiant and unapologetic, even shrugging off invitations to appear before the House Powers and Privileges Committee for purposes of striking a compromise.
Kenya National Assembly Second Term: 2017-2022
In 2017 General Elections, Wandayi effortlessly retained his parliamentary seat. He faced feeble, almost non-existent, opposition at the ODM nominations. Every sensible politician saw the futility of attempting to dislodge him from the seat. There is no indication that the situation is any different now.
On the day of the swearing-in of President Kenyatta, after the repeat elections of October 2017, Wandayi together with Homa Bay and Busia Women Representatives, Gladys Wanga and Florence Mutua, respectively, and the ODM Executive Director Oduor Ongwen converged at an exclusive restaurant in Lavington to review the state of the country. They came to a conclusion that something had to be done to keep pressure on the new government and disorganize it altogether. It is at this meeting that the idea of Resist Movement[4] was conceived. Things moved in quick succession and within four days or so, the Resist Movement had been officially unveiled and boycott of products from the first category of selected companies announced. Other political players in the opposition including Miguna Miguna, who later hijacked the idea, had just to play catch-up. The rest, as they say, is history.
Being an unflinching and consistently loyal lieutenant of Mr. Odinga, once the now famous handshake with President Kenyatta happened in March 2018, Wandayi quickly adjusted his politics to fit into the new scheme of things. By that time, he had also been elected chairman of the powerful Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in the National Assembly. In PAC, Wandayi’s leadership and managerial acumen has been manifest. He has conducted the committee business with utmost objectivity and diligence, devoid of the side-shows that the country had been accustomed to.
Back in the Constituency, Wandayi is touted as one of the very few members of parliament who do not meddle in the day-to-day management of NG-CDF, allowing the responsible committee to run the show, as required by the law. He only provides the necessary overall oversight. Working closely with the people at the grassroots and putting into consideration all shades of opinion, he has evidently put the Constituency on a transformation trajectory in line with the Ugunja Constituency Strategic Plans (2013-2018 and 2018-2023). His leadership style has endeared him to the masses in a most significant way. The constituents rightly view him as a unifying factor.
Kenya National Assembly Third Term: 2022-2027
Wandayi won the 2022 general election and was elected as the Leader of Minority Party in the 13th Parliament in September, 2022[5]. He has emerged as a strong advocate of social justice and accountability underpinned by an independent legislature working in harmony with the Executive and the Judiciary.
Philanthropy
The Opiyo Wandayi Foundation (TOWF) established in 2020 is one of the most respected and deep-rooted African philanthropies. The Foundation has built a reputation as a forerunner in the formation of magnificent partnerships and kindles innovations for transformative change. It has also developed solid policies and procedures and established itself as a credible actor in the development agenda. To date, the Foundation has supported numerous vulnerable and subjugated communities in Kenya. Given the fact that the growth and development of people is the highest calling of leadership, the Foundation has been providing unequalled capacity building programs rooted with activities to boost the competence of its partners for efficiency, effectiveness, and sustainability.
The greatest innovation for the Foundation has been collaboration with other like-minded organizations in all areas of work. The Foundation has since emerged as a premier capacity building organization integrating entrepreneurship and innovation to alleviate poverty with high quality capacity building and inspiring environmental management programs. TOWF is already increasingly receiving global acclaim for its quality products and services and is ranked highly among global philanthropists. From the outset, The Opiyo Wandayi Foundation (TOWF) was founded on a strong legal and governance structure. This primary commitment to accountability has been designed to safeguard the public interest and overcome public mistrust of fundraising efforts and institutions holding public money.
Founders of TOWF saw immense opportunities in several characteristics exhibited by communities in Kenya. These included the fact that people of Kenya are a very resilient, struggling and working through challenges of inequity, famine, scarcity of resources, and high cost of living. There is a steady increase in the population of the young, educated, ambitious and creative population in Kenya. Kenyans have thus remained strong in their hope and desire to improve the welfare and achievement of greater economic growth.
Over the several years learning process, evolving concerns have impacted the structure of TOWF, which continues to be refined to ensure that the public investment with TOWF is secured even as the Organization is streamlined for efficiency and effectiveness.
Achievements
Wandayi has been instrumental in championing the rights of the people of Ugunja and Siaya County in general. He has been involved in various development projects in his constituency, including the construction of roads, schools, and health centers. He has also been vocal in fighting corruption and promoting good governance in the country. He also urged the youth to solve employment by venturing into the Jua Kali sector.
Honours and awards
Head of state commendations
1. Order of the Golden Heart
3rd Class – Moran of the Order of the Golden Heart (M.G.H.)
2 . Order of the Burning Spear
1st Class – Chief of the Order of the Burning Spear (C.B.S.)
Awards
Nominated ODM’s best performing MP in 2020 by Infotrack.[6]
Nominated Best Performing MP Siaya County 2020 by County Gala Awards.
Nominated Best Performing MP Nyanza Region 2021 by County Gala Awards
Nominated Leadership Award Nationally 2021 by Mizani Africa
Personal life
Hon. Opiyo Wandayi is married with children. He is a Christian and is actively involved in various community development projects. He is also a sports enthusiast and enjoys playing and watching football.
See also
- 13th Parliament of Kenya
- List_of_members_of_the_National_Assembly_of_Kenya
- Ugunja Constituency
- 2017 Kenyan general election
References
- ↑ "Hon James Opiyo Wandayi, MP, CBS, MGH | The Kenyan Parliament Website". www.parliament.go.ke. Retrieved 2023-03-19.
- ↑ "British American Tobacco Kenya". www.batkenya.com. Retrieved 2023-03-19.
- ↑ Digital, Standard. "Opiyo Wandayi: Jailed, banned from house but still unbowed". Standard Entertainment. Retrieved 2023-03-19.
- ↑ NASA MPs call for boycott of certain products and services, retrieved 2023-03-19
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedauto - ↑ "Mp's Approval Rating | County Trak Kenya". Retrieved 2023-03-19.
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