Aspirants for various positions in Luo Nyanza are scrambling to get the attention of ODM leader Raila Odinga by campaigning for the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI).

Barely a week after President Uhuru Kenyatta and the former premier launched the signature drive, the political leaders in the region are on a contest to outsmart each other. 

The politicians have hit the ground running in bid to collect signatures from wananchi to meet the Wednesday deadline.

In Kisumu Central constituency, area MP Fred Outa and his challengers among them Joshua Oron and businessman Kevin Kwere, are seeking to outsmart each other by collecting the highest number of signatures.

Already several dates for signing the document in various polling stations have been announced by the politicians and their lieutenants.

At Kaloleni Primary School in Kisumu central constituency, we met Mama Fatuma Asman, 53, appending her signature.

Asman however admitted that she had not yet seen the booklet but had the highlights in the news.

  “I came to sign this because I am a supporter of the area MP. I am yet to see the document but I always follow what is happening in news,” she said.

In Kisumu’s Kondele area, the epicentre of political violence, several youth also admitted that they had not yet read the full document but they had signed in support of one of the aspirants.

Dan Oremo, one of the leaders said: “ We have suffered due to violence after every General Election. That is why we are supporting this document.”

Speaking during the launch at the Mama Grace Onyango Hall during the weekend Outa said: “I  can assure you that within two weeks, we shall have collected the highest number of signatures in Kisumu because we want this document to sail through.”

In Kisumu West constituency, area MP Olago Aluoch and an aspirant seeking to unseat him Kennedy Ochien’g are scrambling to have the highest number of signatures.

In Alego Usonga constituency, businessman Odunga Mamba, former MP Omondi Mulwan and the incumbent Samwel Atandi are also mobilising their supporters.

Nyanza BBI coordinator Bob Madanji however said the collection of signatures should not be turned into a political contest: “We want the highest numbers of signatures in our region. This should not be turned into a contest.”

“The document will change the lives of our people. We want them to sign it very fast so that it can move to the next stage,” said Kisumu Governor Anyang Nyong’o.

 During his visit together with president Uhuru Kenyatta last month, Raila called upon his supporters to back up the document.