Bonchari by-election exposes handshake soft underbelly

The upcoming Bonchari parliamentary by-election has exposed the soft underbelly of the handshake, with behind-the-scenes talks for a single candidate collapsing.

The ODM party led by President Uhuru Kenyatta's handshake partner Raila Odinga remains bullish and is going full-throttle to win the seat.

The seat fell vacant following the death of MP Oroo Oyioka in February.

It has emerged that there were behind-the-scenes talks to have a handshake candidate. But those machinations failed, setting the stage for a bruising battle in the May 18 poll.

The initial plan was for both Uhuru and Raila to support a joint candidate in the by-election like they did with the Msambweni poll last December.

According to the plan, a joint candidate would guarantee the handshake victory and parry Deputy President William Ruto's forays in the region.

Ruto's United Democratic Alliance party is fronting Oroo's widow Teresa Bitutu.

ODM has fielded former Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority boss, Parvel Oimeke while Uhuru's Jubilee is backing ex-MP Zebedeo Opore.

Jubilee and ODM are said to have failed to reach consensus after the President's allies maintained that Bonchari is a battleground.

Jubilee is bullish that its has the strongest candidate among the 13 cleared by the IEBC for the contest.

This has tipped the race into a high-stakes by-election expected to not only test the ODM party's grip on Gusii region but also prove a litmus test for Jubilee's fortunes.

Allies of Uhuru and Raila are now spoiling for a gigantic fight likely to manifest the widening faulty lines it the handshake.

On Tuesday, ODM national treasurer Timothy Bosire told the Star that the party will pull all strings to triumph in Bonchari. He warned the Jubilee party to prepare for a 'mother of all fights.'

“We are in Bonchari to win,” declared the former Kitutu Masaba MP.

Bosire laughed off claims by Jubilee officials that they failed to withdraw their candidate because he is the strongest, saying it is a no-brainer that the region is a stronghold of ODM.

“Claims that Jubilee has a strong foothold in Kisii is neither here nor there. Any suggestions that we step down for Jubilee would be undemocratic and unfriendly,” Bosire said.

The party official accused some unnamed government officials of deploying underground machinations to try to influence the outcome of the by-election.

“They should come out openly in public, play active politics and cut their cloth according to their size instead of abusing their offices,” Bosire said.

This comes after Jubilee insisted that they will proceed with the by-election with their candidate after negotiations to broker a deal for a joint candidate flopped.

Jubilee deputy secretary-general Joshua Kutuny on Tuesday told the Star that the party will no longer engage ODM but will instead face them at the ballot.

“We are not going to force our handshake partners to drop their candidate, the ground looks very good for Jubilee and we are ready to square it out at the ballot,” Kutuny said

The Cherangany MP said that while the Jubilee and ODM parties were working together through the handshake, there was no political deal about by-elections and the 2022 polls.

“As we gear up to 2022 elections, political parties must compete. This is going to be friendly fire,” the MP said.

ODM secretary general Edwin Sifuna said the party believes in a multi-party democracy and never expected Jubilee to step down for them.

"We anticipated competition. We have presented a solid candidate. Let us meet our opponents at the ballot," Sifuna said

There are claims that Jubilee leaders and senior government officials from the region prevailed upon the party to field a candidate as part of a plan to showcase their influence ahead of the 2022 polls.

The move is said to have split the Jubilee rank and file right in the middle in what would affect the party's fortunes in the high-stakes election.

Edited by P.O