•The governor supports ODM leader Raila Odinga and Murkomen is a long-time DP Ruto ally.
• Murkomen has been accusing the governor of failing in his duties while Tolgos accused the senator of being a stranger in his own county.
Image: MATHEWS NDANYI
Governor Alex Tolgos is considering vying for the Senate seat in Elgeyo Marakwet when his second term comes to an end.
Tolgos supports ODM leader Raila Odinga. Senator Kipchumba Murkomen is a close ally of Deputy President William Ruto.
The move could spark off a fierce battle between them.
When contacted by the Star, Tolgos did not directly confirm the move but said he was weighing options.
“I have so many options and one is to just retire and do my own thing as I did before I became governor. Another is to concentrate on national politics as I am doing now by supporting Baba (Raila)," Tolgos said in an interview.
He said another option is to vie for a seat in Elgeyo Marakwet through the Azimo La Umoja movement.
The county boss is still consulting widely.
“If I go in and win, it will be fine but one thing I don’t fear in my politics is losing because it’s part of politics. Once you set your mind, you can go for any seat. But for me in politics it's always win-win because even if you lose you will have given it your best," he said.
Speculation and debate is rife in the county, especially on social media where residents have been discussing the implications of Tolgos running for the Senate seat.
Image: COURTESY
The governor has not been seeing eye to eye with Murkomen politically. Murkomen has been accusing the governor of failing in his duties as governor, while Tolgos has accused the senator of being a stranger in his own county.
“If Tolgos decides to vie for the Senate seat, then he is someone who cannot be ignored even if he will be vying through Azimio while UDA is the most popular party in the region," political analyst Kipchumba Bett said.
Bett said Murkomen had been assumed to have no opponent because of his critical role in DP Ruto’s camp. However, he said with the possible entry of Tolgos, Murkomen will be forced to campaign for reelection, unlike if Tolgos was not in the race.
“Residents may have no problem voting for Ruto in the presidential race but at the county level they will be free to sort out other leaders as they see fit," Bett said.
Elders in Elgeyo Marakwet county have begun pushing for negotiated democracy that would allow the two main Kalenjin subtribes to share out top county seats in the elections.
The county is mainly inhabited by the Keiyo and Marakwet communities and during the last general elections the Marakwets won all the seats, though the Keiyos are a slight majority.
Tolgos is from the Marakwet side which took the top seat while Murkomen, who is also from Marakwet, was elected senator. Jane Chebaibai from the same subtribe was elected woman representative.
During the last elections, aspirants from the Keiyo community were numerous compared to one from the Marakwet community, leading to a win by Tolgos during the Jubilee primaries and general election.
This year, the Keiyo community has also produced more than four aspirants for the governor seat, raising the possibility of losing out again, especially in the governor race, as they split the vote.
(Edited by V. Graham)