Gideon Moi woos Baringo voters after being cleared to defend Senate seat
Kanu chairman Gideon Moi addressing supporters in Kabarnet town on Monday May 30, 2022 after being cleared by IEBC to defend his Senate seat on a Kanu ticket.
What you need to know:
- This sets the stage for a bruising political battle between him and his political archrival, Deputy President William Ruto.
- The DP and the Baringo senator have been embroiled in a protracted supremacy battle for control of the vote-rich Rift Valley.
- Pressure has been piling on Mr Moi to support Dr Ruto’s presidential bid as Kenya Kwanza seeks to solidify the Kalenjin vote.
Kanu chairman and Baringo Senator Gideon Moi has urged voters to re-elect him after he was cleared by the electoral agency to defend his seat for the third term.
Mr Moi received the nod from the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) after submitting his nomination papers at the Kabarnet rehabilitation centre on Monday.
This sets the stage for a bruising political battle between him and his political archrival, Deputy President William Ruto.
Addressing his supporters in Kabarnet soon after, Mr Moi said he has several projects to implement and appealed to voters to support him in his efforts to uplift their living standards.
“I have been cleared by IEBC to defend my seat and I am now free to seek votes from you,” he said
“I am your own son and I besiege you to support me in my bid. You know my opponents are there, but I am the best person for that position.”
In the hotly contested seat, the senator will face off with Baringo North MP William Cheptumo of the United Democratic Alliance (UDA), Felix Kiprono Chelaite of The Service Party (TSP), Florence Jelagat (independent) and David Kipruto (independent).
The DP and the Baringo senator have been embroiled in a protracted supremacy battle for control of the vote-rich Rift Valley.
Pressure has been piling on Mr Moi to support Dr Ruto’s presidential bid as Kenya Kwanza seeks to solidify the Kalenjin vote.
A week ago, Kenya Kwanza leaders said the Baringo senator was shortchanged in the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya coalition after Kanu failed to secure an influential position in the coalition agreement unveiled by its presidential flag-bearer Raila Odinga.
Elgeyo Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen claimed his Baringo counterpart had confided in him that he had high hopes that President Uhuru would back him for a 2022 presidential bid.
In September last year, Senator Moi was endorsed as Kanu’s presidential candidate at the party’s national delegates conference at the Bomas of Kenya.
He had received blessings from elders and clerics from his Baringo backyard.
He exuded confidence at the time that he would clinch the presidency in the August 9 polls after announcing at his home in Sacho, Baringo Central, that he would run for the top seat.
