A teacher, 44, has intentions to succeed President Uhuru Kenyatta when he relinquishes power next year at the expiry of his second and last term in office.
Felix Jarongo Odeny who comes from Homa Bay says when growing up, he had an unusual dream.
He wanted to be the president of the country.
Unlike most children whose dream is to become doctors, lawyers, pilots and engineers, Mr Odeny had his eyes set on the top most political seat.
From high school, he did unusual things.
This made him to be seen as a different person.
On his 4th decade, Odeny is still optimistic that his dreams are valid.
Born and raised in Karachuonyo, Mr Odeny is a man on a mission to change how Kenyans see the race to presidency.
He wants the mindset of Kenyans to change from branding an election as a do or die thing to an activity where anyone can vie for a political seat and win.
In 2018, he resigned from his teaching career in Tanzania to focus on his quest to lead the county after President Kenyatta.
“I was a lecturer at St Augustin University of Tanzania where I taught languages. I have a masters degree in Linguistics from Maseno University. Right now I devote my time to changing the perspective of Kenyan politics,” he said.
At the moment campaigns for presidency and governor seats are characterised by flying helicopters and winding caravans of vehicles crisscrossing different counties in search of votes.
Candidates are people who are well connected and with deep pockets.
Whenever politicians stop, crowds quickly gather to listen to what they say, even if it is false promises.
Mr Odeny says a time has reached when Kenyans expect presidential campaigns to be lavish but he does not intend to race like the others.
For this reason, most people have branded him as a poor man and an underdog.
But he sees himself a worthy candidate who can vie like the other political giants and win an election.
“My friends have sidelined me because of my dream. They always say they are busy whenever I call them for us to have meetings. This has never scared me and I am always focused on my dream,” he said.
When he publicly declared interest in vying for presidency, some of his friends urged him to go for a lower seat, perhaps try his luck in politics by vying for the ward representative seat in hisbackyard.
But no one has managed to change Mr Odeny’s mind and like the biblical story of David and Goliath, he is prepared to face off political giants like Deputy President William Ruto who intends to vie for the same seat.
“There is need to have new minds, behavior and people taking over the leadership of this country. If we continue the way we are, we will not get to any better future,” he said.
Mr Odeny opposes the expensive style Kenyan politicians use to campaign saying machinery under vote hunt could be proceeds of corruption.
“In most cases, a politician will want to recover what he spent during the campaign. The system has affected our economy and we cannot grow immediately after an election,” he said.
Right now, his family could be the only support he has.
With less than one year before the 2022 general election, Mr Odeny expects to get more backing especially from ‘ordinary’ Kenyans who have failed to get what their leaders promised them.
He said that the nation needs leaders capable of doing new things rather than repeating what previous generations have been doing.
This has been his greatest motivation.
“How can one say he wants a better life when all indications are of a high cost of living? I believe that basic needs should be affordable,” he said.
From affordable health care to war against corruption which is tearing the county apart, Mr Odeny believes he has ideas that can put the nation on the right track.
“If I had been taught to doubt myself and let people decide for me what I can do and what I cannot, perhaps I couldn’t have walked. Nobody told me to walk. I did it by myself. Nobody taught me to speak. I did it, one of the most difficult and probably the strangest things in the world- speaking, all by myself,” he said.
On Facebook, Mr Odeny hopes his ideas will be embraced by Kenyans.
He hopes they will consider him as a worthy presidential candidate and elect him.
“Felix for President 2022” is the group name he has created on the social media site where he engages his followers.
“It is clear some regions of our country are better off than others. That the imbalance could have been made to exist is something we should not defend rather we should feel a sense of guilt about; that human beings allowed such a phenomenon to prevail over their conscience,” he wrote in one Facebook post.
“The good news is that having seen it, the government has moved forward in step with Kenya’s ideals, values, and attitudes that ensures equity and inclusion,” the post continued.
Mr Odeny thinks this is a good moment for leaders to promise every region that they should never look back at their dark moments except when they want to learn.
He said Kenyans need to look forward to better days and the continuation of new beginnings.