• Senator Johnson Sakaja will fly the UDA flag for governor, deputised by Absa Bank Kenya Ltd CEO James Njoroge Muchiri.
• Jubilee has chosen former Deputy Governor Polycarp Igathe, a businessman, for governor, deputised by Wiper politician Philip Kaloki.
Image: EZEKIEL AMING'A
Deputy President William Ruto's UDA party has dozens of new faces to take on well-known city politicians in the August 9 general election.
Nairobi has 17 constituencies and the United Democratic Alliance aims to win at least 12 National Assembly seats in the capital.
Former Law Society of Kenya president Nelson Havi will fly the party's flag in Westlands constituency for his debut in national politics.
He will face two-term lawmaker Timothy Wanyonyi of ODM who has represented the constituency since 2013.
In Dagoretti North, UDA is banking on Chapia Bukachi to beat former county assembly Speaker Beatrice Elachi, the ODM flagbearer.
Elachi lost to Simba Arati in 2017 when she ran on the Jubilee ticket. She has been handed the ODM direct nomination with Arati not running. The MP is instead seeking to succeed Governor Charles Ongwae in Kisii.
In Mathare, UDA has picked Billian Ojiwa to take on ODM's Anthony Oluoch. Ojiwa ditched ODM after Oluoch was handed a direct nomination by the party.
Former DCI officer Augustie Mwafrika will seek the Roysambu parliamentary seat on the UDA ticket. Like Havi and Chapia, Mwafrika will also be debuting in politics. He will face incumbent Ndirangu Waihenya of Jubilee.
In Ruaraka, UDA is hoping newcomer Boaz Chelugut will dislodge vocal ODM lawmaker Tom Kajwang who has held the seat for two-terms.
Businessman Anthony Waithaka will be the UDA candidate for Makadara MP where he will face stiff competition from former mayor and current lawmaker George Aladwa of ODM.
UDA has also unveiled a new face in Robow, Mohamed Hassan, for the Kamukunji parliamentary race against Jubilee’s Yussuf Hassan.
Robow left Nairobi for a new base in Mandera after winning the Lagsure MCA seat in Mandera West constituency in the 2013 elections.
Before that, he had been a councillor representing Eastleigh North in the now defunct Nairobi City Council.
After serving his rural ward for 10 years, Hassan wants to make a comeback to urban politics.
In Embakasi South, UDA is fronting Albanus Kalumba to unseat the Julius Mawathe of Kalonzo Musyoka’s Wiper party.
Retired footballer McDonald Mariga will make a second stab for the Kibra MP seat after losing in the 2019 by-election to Imran Okoth of ODM.
This time, Mariga will battle Peter Orero who won the ODM ticket.
Former Kasarani MP John Njoroge will be attempting to make a comeback with UDA’s ticket. He is seeking to reclaim the seat he lost to Mercy Gakuya in 2017.
Businessman Francis Mureithi will also be seeking to dislodge ODM's Babu Owino from the helm in Embakasi East.
East African Legislative Assembly lawmaker Simon Mbugua will fly UDA’s flag for the Starehe parliamentary race. Mbugua beat MP Charles Njagua during the UDA nominations.
Mbugua will face Jubilee’s Amos Mwago. Njagua might also run as an independent.
Defending their seats on the UDA ticket are George Theuri (Embakasi West), Benjamin Mwangi (Embakasi Central), John Kiarie (Dagoretti South), David Gakuya (Embakasi North) and Nixon Korir (Lang'ata).
They will face David Mwenje’s son Mark Mwenje (Jubilee), former mayor John Ndirangu (Jubilee), Dennis Waweru (Jubilee), Harrison Wangoro (Jubilee) and media personality Felix Odiwuor (ODM), respectively.
Ndirangu, who was Embakasi Central MP from 2013 to 2017, was handed a direct ticket by by Jubilee. In Dagoretti South, Waweru lost to Kiarie in 2017.
Going by the past voting patterns, Nairobi has always voted in favour of Opposition chief Raila Odinga and his ODM party.
UDA has settled on Senator Johnson Sakaja to seek the governor's seat.
The Azimio coalition of both President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM's Raila have picked former Deputy Governor Polycarp Igathe to run on the Jubilee ticket.
Sakaja has picked Absa Bank Kenya Ltd CEO James Njoroge Muchiri as his running mate, while Igathe will run with Wiper politician Philip Kaloki as his deputy.
ODM's Edwin Sifuna will be the coalition's candidate for Senate while Woman Representative Esther Passaris will be defending her seat on the ODM ticket.
UDA is fronting former Starehe lawmaker Margaret Wanjiru for Senate while Nominated Senator Millicent Omanga will run for Woman Rep.
Nairobi had 2,251,929 registered voters in 2017 and the number has increased since then.
In the 2017 elections, Raila garnered 828,826 votes against Uhuru's 791,291. But the Jubilee Party won more MP seats (nine) against ODM's seven. Wiper Democratic Movement got one.
(Edited by V. Graham)