It’s Ruto vs Gideon as Kanu, UDA spoil for Baringo vote battle

A fierce political battle is looming in Baringo County as Deputy President William Ruto spoils for a fight with his political opponent, Kanu chairman Gideon Moi, in the August 9 polls.

The region is perceived to be a United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party stronghold and candidates who triumphed in its primaries were banking on sailing through in the General Election.

But Mr Moi’s Kanu will not let the DP Ruto-led party have it easy and has fielded nominees in several elective positions.

Supremacy battle

The DP and the Baringo senator have been embroiled in a protracted supremacy battle for control of the vote-rich Rift Valley, with Baringo, Mr Moi’s backyard, among the counties of interest.

In Eldama Ravine constituency, UDA nominee Musa Sirma will face off with Caroline Tallam, who defected from the party to join the Kanu.

The duo will also face off with Emmanuel Ng’etuny, who ditched UDA after being defeated in the nominations to vie on an independent ticket. Mr Ng’etuny, who emerged third after Mr Sirma and Halima Abdul in the hotly contested primaries, claims the April 14 voting was marred by irregularities.

Mr Sirma, a former minister and a close ally of Senator Moi, exited Kanu in July last year and was welcomed by the DP to UDA, where he later announced his interest in the Eldama Ravine parliamentary seat.

Prof Sambili vs Kiborek

In Mogotio constituency, former MP Hellen Sambili will also compete with UDA nominee Reuben Kiborek and sitting MP Daniel Tuitoek, who will also be vying on an independent ticket.

Mr Kiborek, a youthful aspirant who battled for the UDA ticket with the MP and five others in the nominations, disputed the results, forcing party officials to order a rerun, which saw him defeat the incumbent, who emerged second.

Mr Kiborek, 29, won in the hotly contested primary, garnering 9,861 votes against his closest opponent Mr Tuitoek, who got 9,601.

Other aspirants in the race included Hillary Songoyo (160), William Arusei (68), Morgan Kiprono (23), Tom Kiptanui (22) and Joel Koima (17).

Prof Sambili won the parliamentary seat in the 2007 elections on a United Democratic Movement (UDM) ticket and served two terms.

In the 2017 elections, she vied on an independent ticket but lost the seat to Mr Tuitoek of the Jubilee Party, emerging second.

She is now trying to make a political comeback on a Kanu ticket, promising a tough battle between the three candidates.

In Baringo North constituency, Stephen Kipkebut will fly the Kanu flag against Joseph Makilap (UDA) and Sammy Chelang’a (independent).

In Baringo South, the cockerel party has fielded former Sacho High School Principal Richard Moindi, who will battle it out with the incumbent Charles Kamuren (UDA), Dickson Keiss (Jubilee) and Joseph Tarus, who ditched UDA for an independent ticket.

Battle of titans

It is, however, still unclear whether Senator Moi will defend his seat, even as reports indicate that he has obtained the party's direct ticket for the position, a move that will stir a bruising battle between him and DP Ruto’s ally and Baringo North MP William Cheptumo, who is flying the UDA flag.

The Baringo contest will be between the DP and Senator Moi, said Charles Kipkulei, a political scientist and political strategist.

“It was widely believed that the contest would be over after the UDA nominations but with the change in political dynamics, the battle will run until August 9.  Should Senator Moi come back, it will not be a UDA and Kanu affair but squarely a battle of titans between him and the DP,” Mr Kipkulei said.

But he claimed the chances of the Kanu candidates winning in the elections are slim, owing to the popularity of UDA in the region and the DP aspect.

Weak candidates

He also claimed that Kanu has weak candidates because their nominations were not through a competitive process.

“It is true that there will be a credible competition between the two parties but very few will triumph because of the popularity of the UDA in the region. Kanu has weak candidates because [voters were not involved in selecting candidates] …,” said the political scientist.

“In very few isolated cases, particularly if it’s Moi himself on the ballot, then most of the aspirants in Baringo will have a difficult time.”

In the Baringo South by-election of August 2018, the DP solidified his grip on the Rift Valley after Mr Kamuren, a candidate he plucked from Kanu, won the closely contested mini-poll on a Jubilee ticket.

The seat fell vacant following the death of MP Grace Kipchoim in April 2018 after a long battle with colon cancer.

Mr Kamuren had vied for the Baringo South parliamentary seat twice, in 2013 and 2017, on a Kanu ticket but lost to the late Kipchoim.

Mr Kamuren had crossed over from Kanu in the run up to the by-election, following the machinations of the DP, who had toured the area.

The move was seen at the time as a big win for the DP, who had been engaged in a protracted battle of supremacy with Mr Moi for control of the Rift Valley vote.

In Tiaty, a region perceived to be a Kanu stronghold, the incumbent MP William Kamket will battle it out with former deputy county commissioner Peter Ng’eleiyo of UDA and former MP Asman Kamama, who will be vying on a Kenya United Party (KUP) ticket.

In the 2017 elections, all MP and ward representative seats were clinched by Kanu, as well as the senator and woman rep positions, which were won by Mr Moi and Ms Gladwell Cheruiyot, respectively.

Ms Cheruiyot will defend her seat on a Kanu ticket against Florence Jematia (UDA) and Rebecca Lomong of KUP.

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