Woman who flew UDA flag in Kisumu 2022 Woman Rep contest dies
The late Ms Filgona Ayugi. She contested the Kisumu Woman Rep seat n the 2022 elections on UDA party ticket.
The granny who made headlines after bagging President William Ruto's United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party ticket to contest the Kisumu Woman Rep seat, has died.
Ms Filgona Ayugi, 67, braved the hostility in Kisumu at the height of the heated 2022 election campaigns and threw her hat in the ring to face Mr Odinga's younger sister Ruth Odinga in the August 9, 2022 polls.
According to her son George Ayugi, a UDA Kisumu chairman aspirant in the upcoming December 9 grassroots elections, Ms Ayugi died at Kisumu Specialists Hospital at about 9.45pm on Sunday.
"She had been in and out of hospital for the past three months and was admitted to Kisumu Specialists Hospital last week where she passed on. She was to undergo a bone marrow transplant," Mr Ayugi told the Nation.
She left behind seven children.
Ms Ayugi polled 7,825 votes in the Kisumu Woman Rep race where she was considered an underdog after braving the political heat in the lakeside city to vie on Dr Ruto's UDA.
Ms Odinga won the seat after garnering 304,419 votes against her closest rival Valentine Anyango of the Movement for Democracy and Growth (MDG) party, who garnered 80,117 votes.
Ms Rose Auma, who contested as an independent candidate, received 36,692 votes.
At the height of campaigning before last year's elections, Ms Ayugi said age was "just a number and party is just a choice".
"I have been closely monitoring the governance system in Kisumu County and I am convinced that this is not the way to go, hence my bold move to contest for this position to address the leadership deficit not only in Kisumu but in the country as a whole," Ms Ayugi told the Nation at the time.
She pointed out that her candidature was a true reflection of a "hustler", adding that she would seek to ensure that residents living below the poverty line rally behind her as "I promise to change their lives if elected".
"My permission to stand for this position should not be taken for granted. Firstly, it is a demonstration that Deputy President William Ruto is a man of his words," she said after collecting her nomination certificate.
She had asked voters in Kisumu not to judge her by her party affiliation but by her manifesto and plans for the people.
