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ADVERTBy 2027, Siaya politics may no longer be about political idealism but hard measurable achievements. In this scenario, a player whose name keeps resurfacing in hushed strategy meetings, roadside debates and Nairobi boardrooms is Samuel Onunga Atandi — the Alego-Usonga MP who has quietly rewritten his own political script and could yet redraw Siaya’s power map.
Atandi is already a historical outlier. Since the promulgation of the 2010 Constitution, Alego-Usonga had been a political graveyard for incumbents. One term and out. Yet Atandi broke the jinx, clawing his way to a second term in 2022 against the odds — a feat that, in Siaya politics, is no small statement.
When Atandi burst onto the political scene in 2017, he was widely seen as half-baked — a technocrat riding public frustration against then MP Omondi Muluan, who faced accusations of arrogance and aloofness. Atandi’s early days did little to calm skeptics. Viral clips of a carefree MP dancing himself lame as he acclimatised to the salary, allowances and status of Parliament fed the perception of a man overwhelmed by sudden power.
But politics is a long-distance race, not a sprint. Exposure, bruising lessons and survival instincts appear to have refined Atandi into a far more calculating operator — comfortable in the National Assembly, fluent in boardroom economics, and increasingly deliberate in grassroots politics.
Atandi’s political rebirth was perhaps best illustrated during the chaotic ODM primaries ahead of the 2022 election. The party dropped him — a near political death sentence in Nyanza. But Atandi fought back, securing an Inter-Parties Disputes Tribunal–ordered rerun. When the dust settled, he didn’t just win — he crushed his closest rival by such a margin that the ticket had to be handed back to him, or the party faces national ridicule.
That episode sent a clear signal: Atandi is not a walkover. If, in his raw and relatively rustic state, he could pull off such a comeback, then in his more refined, better-funded and better-connected version, he could, certainly, pull off something bigger.
Fallouts, Power Plays and a Strategic Pause
His second term has not been without turbulence. Political friendships have frayed — notably with Gem MP Elisha Odhiambo Akuba — and relations with Siaya Governor James Aggrey Bob Orengo have grown increasingly cold. Yet, unlike many who rush headlong into premature battles, Atandi opted for a strategic pause.
ADVERTThat patience paid off.
When the Raila Odinga–negotiated broad-based government arrangement reshuffled parliamentary power, Atandi emerged as a major beneficiary, landing the coveted post of Chairman of the National Assembly’s Budget and Appropriations Committee — one of the most powerful and economically strategic dockets in Parliament.
This is not a ceremonial title. It is where national priorities are funded, stalled or reshaped. In Kenyan politics, budget power is real power.
Technocrat Roots, Political Muscle
Unlike many career politicians, Atandi’s background gives him a unique edge. Before politics, he was deeply embedded in Kenya’s banking sector — rising through roles at Standard Chartered, Bank of Africa, NIC Bank and ultimately the National Bank of Kenya, where he served as Director of Institutional and Transactional Banking.
Armed with a Bachelor of Arts degree from Egerton University, and decades of experience managing billions in institutional finance, Atandi understands numbers, leverage and negotiation — skills that translate neatly into high-stakes politics.
His committee work since 2017, particularly in Finance and National Planning, now dovetails perfectly with his current budget role, amplifying both his influence and his national visibility.
The question quietly animating Siaya is this: Is Atandi the system’s green-eyed boy — the man being prepared to clip Orengo’s wings?
There are no public details, but Atandi himself has, rightly or wrongly, claimed to have played a key behind-the-scenes role in Orengo’s election as governor. Ironically, the very national government Orengo rails against is set to deliver visible legacy projects in Siaya town ahead of 2027 — towering Affordable Housing units, a modern market right in the heart of CBD, a modern Level Four Hospital and a world-class stadium.
Crucially, these projects are not being branded by the antagonistic Orengo camp, but by the national government — the same platform Atandi could ride if he aligns himself with the Ruto-Tutam political architecture.
Politics rewards timing as much as talent. Atandi enters the 2027 window wealthier, wiser, better networked and institutionally powerful. He commands national attention, controls budget levers, and understands grassroots mobilisation far better than he did in 2017.
If he could shock the system once to secure a second term when the odds were stacked heavily against him, then in this refined state, Sam Atandi could shock Siaya again.
Whether he ultimately challenges Orengo or redefines alliances, one fact is now undeniable: ignore Sam Atandi at your own peril. In Siaya 2027, he is no longer a footnote — he is a variable that could change the entire equation.
