Kenya African National Union (KANU) chairman Gideon Moi will appear before the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) in Baringo on Thursday to return his nomination papers.
The IEBC has allocated Wednesday and Thursday as the days that candidates will appear before its various returning officers to register as candidates for the November 27 by-elections.
The KANU chairman, who made a surprise announcement last week on his quest to regain the seat he lost to the late William Cheptumo in 2022, will appear before the Baringo Returning Officer in Kabarnet on Thursday morning.
“Party chairman and candidate will be at IEBC offices on Thursday at 11 am to present his papers,” Moi’s aide Alex Kiprotich confirmed while expressing confidence that the former Senator will regain his seat.
If cleared by the commission, Moi, who served as the first Baringo Senator under the new constitution from 2013, will face off the ruling UDA’s Cheburet Chemitei, who secured the UDA party nominations, which attracted eight other candidates two weeks after garnering 48,791 votes.
Lawyer Benjamin Chebon is also seeking the seat as an Independent, in a contest where the Moi-Ruto political rivalry is likely to be reignited.
“I do not need a handshake; I only need a handshake with the people of Baringo. I will come back to you, and you will guide me,” Moi said in March this year during the burial of ex-MP Willy Kamuren when responding to persons urging him to mend fences with President Ruto.
IEBC has set the campaign period for purposes of the by-elections shall commence on Wednesday, 8th October 2025, and cease on Monday, 24th November 2025, being 48 hours before the by-election day.
The campaign time shall run daily from 7.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m.
During the campaign period, the IEBC dispute resolution committee shall hear and determine disputes from Wednesday, 8th October 2025, to Friday, 17th October 2025.
Moi’s late entry is promising to shift the dynamics in Baringo, a county where the ex-senator’s father late Daniel Arap Moi, who was Kenya’s second and longest serving President, hailed from.
Last week, Mogotio MP Rueben Kiborek engaged in a spat of words with his Baringo North counterpart Joseph Makilap over the latter’s support for the UDA candidate, just two days after Moi declared his interest.
“I have no personal problem with our UDA candidate Chemitei Kiprono in the Baringo Senatorial Contest. However, the arrogance, disrespect, and profiling of a community for political gain will not be tolerated in our politics in Baringo,” Makilap said on Sunday.
He added;
“Leadership in our County demands humility, respect for our heritage and diversity, and a genuine commitment to serve the people; not pride, division, or backbiting or back-scheming for political gain.”
However, Kiborek shot back, accusing his colleague of being dishonest in his support for the UDA candidate was not genuine.
“We might be what you say we are, but at least we are not dishonest, greedy, or insecure. It’s honest to say in public what you say in private,” Kiborek added.
