How sibling rivalry spoilt the party for Azimio in Nakuru East

Sibling rivalry between the ruling Jubilee Party, the Orange Democratic Movement, Kanu and Ubuntu People's Forum cost the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya party the Nakuru East parliamentary seat.

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) announced incumbent MP David Gikaria, who vied under the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party, as the winner with 30,810 votes, against his closest rival Joel Kairu’s (Jubilee) 25,965.

In his acceptance speech, Mr Gikaria, who was seeking a third term, thanked his party and supporters.

“There is a winner and loser in every election. Let’s now get to work,” he said as he celebrated the win with his family.

Political pundits now say sibling rivalry among Azimio parties became the outfit’s Achilles heel, making it difficult for it to bag the seat in the cosmopolitan region.

The results announced by the IEBC showed that Mr Gikaria led with 30,810 votes, followed closely by Nakuru County Assembly Speaker Joel Kairu, who had 25,965.

Mr Samuel Okello (ODM) received 3,535 votes and Karuga Grace (Kanu) 858.

Others were Maina Kariuki (UPF), 299 votes, and Benson Mwangi, 4,696.

Rivalry within Jubilee itself, for instance, saw former mayor Benson Mwangi Wangai vie as an independent candidate.

Analysts say that had Mr Kairu, Mr Mwangi, Mr Okello, Ms Karuga and Mr Kariuki joined hands, Azimio could have bagged the seat with about 40,000 votes.

Unlike Azimio, which fielded several candidates for the seat, UDA had a single candidate.

"The sibling rivalry was Azimio's major undoing in its failure to bag the parliamentary seat. Had the candidates joined hands, Azimio would have comfortably won the seat," said lawyer and political analyst Steve Kabita.

“The rivalry ended up denying Azimio victory and spoiling the party in the largely cosmopolitan constituency as all the candidates divided votes amongst themselves and allowed their opponent flying the United Democratic Alliance ticket to win.

Nakuru East, which was carved out of Nakuru Town constituency ahead of the 2013 elections, will now be represented by Mr Gikaria (UDA).

He faced 14 candidates, including Rono Denis (Usawa), Adan Ismail (UDM), who garnered 2,230 votes, and independents Benson Wangai (410), Wainaina Julius (5,284), Kinyua Joseph (271) Muthee Charles (701), Mwithaga Anthony (323) and Douglas Njoroge (147).

At least 75,579 ballots were valid, while 860 were rejected.

An attempt by Azimio to subject candidates from affiliate parties to vetting ahead of Tuesday’s elections ran into headwinds.

The coalition wanted to back only the most popular candidates for parliamentary or ward representative seats.

But it attracted uproar across the country, forcing the top brass to abandon the plan.

In Nakuru East, the candidates failed to agree even after Mr Odinga intervened.

The seat was the most hotly contested in Nakuru as the 14 sought to unseat Mr Gikaria.

With Nakuru designated a city last December, the stakes were high as each of the candidates sought to control the constituency, expected to reap benefits from the status.

President Uhuru Kenyatta, on December 1, 2021, awarded a city charter to the Nakuru municipality after years of lobbying.

Nakuru joined the ranks of Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu. With that, residents are set to enjoy improved services as the city will attract more funding to expand water and sewerage services, and infrastructure.

Daniel Kimani, a governance expert, said Nakuru will now attract more funding from the national government and development partners, including global bodies like the World Bank and the United Nations.

"The funding will promote development, mainly in the city’s two constituencies – Nakuru East and Nakuru West," Mr Kimani told the Nation.

The expected boon fuelled a titanic battle in the constituency as candidates sought to clinch the seat and control the city.

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