Langata Member of Parliament Phelix Odiwuor alias Jalango.
Phelix Odiwuor needs no introduction. Known by his stage name Jalang'o, he made a name for himself in the entertainment industry as a comedian, actor, MC and radio host, before switching to politics. He is the MP for Lang'ata
My story begins in Homa Bay, where I was born and raised. If I say I came from a modest family, that would be a lie. The truth is, we were poor. You know the kind of family where, when children are being sent home for school fees arrears, you don't wait for the teacher to call out your name, you simply start packing to leave because you know you won’t miss that list.
Mine was a family where you could go back home for lunch from school, drink water, go back to school, smile with everybody in class, and keep hoping that maybe in the evening there would be something to eat.
Langata MP-elect Phelix Odiwuor alias Jalang'o.
I was never a fisherman. It was never my trade, but if I was going to get somewhere, fishing was the only option I had. Poverty has always been the enemy.
The first time I saw my father cry was when I passed the KCPE exams and was accepted at Maseno School. I arrived at Maseno School two months late, as it took my father that long to secure the necessary funds. When we arrived, we found that my place had been taken. My father couldn't control his tears because he believed that being admitted to Maseno would be the beginning of breaking the generational poverty curse that had reigned over our family.
If my father were to rise from the dead today, I am certain he would be very surprised because I have almost achieved everything he asked me to do in the letter he wrote to me before he passed away.
In the letter, he had asked me to take my four siblings to school and to build my mother a home. If he were alive today, I think he would be proud of me.
If he were alive, I would have bought him a Ford Ranger for him to just flex in the village and to his peers, as a testament to his rise from nothing to something.
My father died on the day I got my first job. That was the day Caroline Mutoko called to inform me that I had been chosen alongside Larry Asego to be co-hosts. After Caroline's call, I received a call from my brother, who asked me to go home because our father had passed away.
Langata MP Phelix Odiwuor aka Jalango alongside counterparts Zaheer Jhanda (Nyaribari Chache) and Didmus Barasa (Kimilili) in Marani, Kisii, on April 27, 2025.
I had originally planned to join the political arena. Through radio, my podcast and everything I did, I had become a voice of influence, despite only having a birth certificate and a Form Four certificate. After finishing school, I enrolled for a human science and community development degree at Daystar University.
I chose politics because it gives you a bigger platform and a voice to change people's lives, and I think I have been doing just that since I was elected.
I was recently ranked eighth among the top 20 performing MPs. The hard work I have put in is finally bearing fruit, and the results speak for themselves.
Poverty taught me that once you understand where you are in life, nothing else matters. Accept your situation and never force yourself to the next step before the door opens, because God always has a plan and timeline for you.
