•The race for the UDA ticket has attracted six top contenders, led by politician Jonathan Bii, who is considered a front-runner for the seat.
• All aspirants are expected to intensify campaigns from January ahead of the UDA primaries.
Image: BY MATHEWS NDANYI
Aspirants seeking to succeed Governor Jackson Mandago in Uasin Gishu have stepped up campaigns to win the UDA ticket.
The race for the UDA ticket has attracted six top contenders led by politician Jonathan Bii, who is considered a front-runner.
Bii, who is popularly known as “Koti Moja” in the county, was the first aspirant to declare his interest in the seat three years ago.
Kenya’s envoy to Pakistan Julius Bitok and his China counterpart Sarah Serem are also in the Uasin Gishu's governor race.
Others are Ngenyilel MCA David Sing’oei, Nairobi Devolution executive Vesca Kangogo and Soy MP Caleb Kostany.
Also in the race is Solomon Kiptarbei, popularly known as the “Bicycle Man”. He used a bicycle during his campaigns in the last elections.
“Bii has identified himself as the hustler’s aspirant and even though he lacks the necessary financial war chest, he is one of those to watch in the race,” spokesman for professionals in the area Kipchumba Bett said.
Some church leaders recently hosted a prayer meeting for Bii in Soy constituency. He later met with more than 3,000 elders, youth, women leaders and boda boda operators to drum up support for his bid.
Bii told the delegations at his home that he was ready to take the county to the next level, if elected to succeed Mandago.
“I will work with all communities, all residents and other stakeholders so that we can do more work to ensure devolution benefits everyone,” Bii said.
All aspirants are expected to intensify campaigns from January ahead of the UDA primaries.
Mandago has said he has no preferred aspirant whom he will back to succeed him. The governor will be in the race for the Senate seat in the county.
The governor has, however, unexpectedly faced hostility from some allies of Deputy President William Ruto led by Kapseret MP Oscar Sudi, who want him to drop his senatorial bid and seek a national seat.
Debate is raging in the county on why Sudi came out to oppose Mandago’s plan. Already, there are claims that insiders in Ruto’s camp are aware of a scheme to tame Mandago politically.
Sources told the Star that some of Ruto’s allies were unhappy with Mandago and had been waiting for an opportune time to "teach him a political lesson".
“The governor has been operating as a lone ranger and showing lukewarm support for the DP. He has proved to be unreliable and cannot stand with anyone. We don’t need such a person who is selfish,” an MP from the region allied to UDA said.
They accuse Mandago of being an opportunist who has been bragging that he is self-made.
“Let him dare run for the Senate seat, and we will show him that he needs other people and that selfishness will not take him anywhere.
But Mandago has insisted he will vie for the seat and crush his opponents the same way he did when he was elected.
“I know where they sit and plan to abuse me, but I am not a joke the way they think,” Mandago said during a meeting at Moi's Bridge.
“Sudi has even claimed I am from Turkana but that doesn't bother me because Turkanas are also human beings and Kenyans," the governor added.
A group of youth leaders in the region have backed Mandago’s plan, saying he has performed well as governor and would do even better as a senator.
“We have no problem with Mandago and in fact we will campaign for him because we know he is a performer who will properly oversight the county as senator,” youth group spokesman Joseph Chumba said.
Edited by A.N