Mumias East Member of Parliament Peter Salasya is elated after acquiring his first car.
The youthful legislator flaunted his new ride, a Toyota Land Cruiser V8 2016 model, on social media after being handed the keys by the dealer on Wednesday, November 16.
While thanking the people of Mumias East for electing him, the outspoken MP, said the car worth approximately Ksh8 million will help him serve the people better.
"Finally KDK037 is out and officially handed. Thank you people of #MumiasEast for the amazing trust and love you have in me," he said in a tweet.
"I will serve you tirelessly in realizing your dream, and all Kenyans through my committee of Agriculture and Regional Development."
Finally KDK037 is out and officially handed .Thank you pple of #MumiasEast for the amazing trust and love you have in me.I will serve you tirelessly in realizing your dream,and to all kenyans through my committee of agriculture,Regional Development alongside regional integration pic.twitter.com/ZhZhGsMgDL
— Peter K. Salasya, MP (@P_Salasya) November 16, 2022
The MP has been using a similar vehicle donated to him during the campaign period by former Defence Cabinet Secretary Eugine Wamalwa.
He expressed his gratitude to the CS for supporting his campaigns, saying he will now return the car to him.
"I want to thank Waziri Eugene Wamalwa for the car but I have to return it today," Salasya said adding that he will officially unveil his new car tomorrow during a thanksgiving event at his home constituency.
As a newly elected politician, Salasya is entitled to a car loan of Ksh7 million.
The 32-year-old is one of the few lucky youths who defied the odds to emerge victorious in the August 9 general election, beating moneyed politicians who have been in the game for decades.
In a past interview, the legislator, elected on a Democratic Action Party - Kenya (DAP-K) ticket, said the victory didn't come easy. He disclosed that he nurtured the dream for nearly a decade, failing severally.
The second-last child in a family of six unsuccessfully contested for the Mumias East parliamentary seat in the 2017 general election, finishing last with a measly 254 votes.
This was not his first poll defeat in life. He first tasted defeat while a freshman at Egerton University where he contested for the Entertainment docket.
"Everyone I approached promised they would vote for me only to finish last in the polls," he said amid laughter.
The experience encouraged him to launch a second bid for the Mumias East MP seat in 2022.
Unlike his competitors, the MP said, he didn't mount an expensive campaign due to financial constraints having lost his teller job at Diamond Trust Bank after the 2017 poll defeat.
With a low-paying teaching job at Sigalagala National Polytechnic, the politician had to seek help from locals to put up a semi-permanent house in his village after a humiliating onslaught from his competitors that he didn't have a house of his own.
He relied on boda boda to move around during the campaign period before he got help from Wamalwa, who offered him a vehicle to help him with his campaigns after defecting from the ODM party.
He garnered 12,140 votes to win the Mumias East race. His main challenger David Wamatsi of Amani National Congress (ANC) party came second with 9,043 votes while Benson Mapwoni, who had been endorsed by immediate Mumias East MP Benjamin Washiali, finished third with 5,118 votes.
"I only got this seat because people related with my manifesto that touched on issues affecting them," the lively politician said adding that he had only Ksh500 when he took the oath of office on November 8.
