The rise and Fall of Joy Gwendo, It happened so fast

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Joy Gwendo shocked many when she was nominated by her party, The National Alliance (TNA), in 2013 having come from a region that was largely known for being a stronghold of the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (Cord).

However, her venture into politics has not been as rosy as many may think as she faced the many challenges women encounter when seeking elective seats in Kenya. These include insults and violence.

Her interest in politics benefited from mentorship by TNA Secretary-General Onyango Oloo, who is currently the Kisumu assembly speaker.

Mr Oloo was among the few people who dared to go against the wave in the Orange Democratic Movement by speaking candidly against Luo Nyanza leadership.

Former nominated Senator Joy Adhiambo Gwendo in court

Ms Gwendo was living in Nairobi’s Kibera slums when she campaigned for TNA in the ODM zone.

She stood her ground and was awarded with a nomination into the Senate when President Uhuru Kenyatta started his first term in 2013.

In 2017, the politician contested for the Kisumu East parliamentary seat on a Jubilee Party ticket, and came a distant third, losing to incumbent Shakeel Shabbir, with ODM’s Nicholas Oricho coming second.

Ms Gwendo has, however, had her fare share of negative publicity. She was once arrested for drunk-driving and spent the night in police cells.

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Ms Gwendo has also been in the limelight for allegedly assaulting one of her staff while a nominated legislator. On Friday, Ms Gwendo was jailed for two years by a Nairobi court for stealing Sh1.7 million from a cooperative society in Kisumu.

She was handed the sentence for abuse of office and failure to honour a plea bargain she entered into with the State to pay the amount she fraudulently received.

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