William Ruto's influence haunts Raymond Moi in Rongai MP race
Raymond Moi addresses the media at Mercy Njeri Primary school in Rongai Constituency on August 9, 2022.
If the number of votes that President-elect William Ruto got in the Rongai constituency against his rival Raila Odinga is any barometer to predict the outcome of Monday’s repeat parliamentary elections, then Raymond Moi's political goose is cooked.
With 84,625 registered voters, Dr Ruto proved his popularity in the cosmopolitan constituency when he got 42,530 votes while Mr Odinga trailed with 13,799 votes followed by Mr George Wajackoyah with 134 votes with Mr David Waihiga getting 96 votes in the presidential race.
To ensure that Mr Raymond loses the seat he has fiercely defended for two terms, the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) army led by Deputy President-elect Rigathi Gachagua camped in the constituency to drum up support for Paul "Mamba" Chebor.
This political attack by leading UDA luminaries who also included Nakuru Governor Susan Kihika, Woman Rep Liza Chelule, MPs Mr Ndindi Nyoro (Kiharu), Mr Kimani Ichung'wa (Kikuyu), Mr Joseph Tonui (Kuresoi South) and Mr Reuben Kiborek (Mogotio) among others prompted Mr Raymond to raise alarm saying the UDA brigade were behaving as election agents.
The UDA team camped in the constituency and will be monitoring the polls in all the 197 polling stations.
If Mr Chebor clinches the seat, he will have to thank the popularity of Dr Ruto in the area. The constituency is dubbed a ‘dynasty’ seat since it is where the late President Daniel arap Moi settled after his retirement.
But even as the voters prepare to elect their representative, it will not be a walk in the park for the UDA candidate as Raymond still commands a lot of respect, particularly from the non-Kalenjin communities in the region who have overwhelmingly been voting for him since 2013 because of his good development record.
However, since he first won the seat after beating Alicen Chelaite in 2013 polls, it seems Raymond's development record which was at one stage was the best in South Rift has been watered down.
To prove their love for their MP, Rongai residents held demonstrations when they realised that Mr Raymond’s name was missing from the ballot due to what the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission described as a mix-up.
The angry residents lit bonfires and blocked the Nakuru-Kabarnet Road, accusing the IEBC of plotting to rig out their MP.
Raymond, too, pointed an accusing finger at the IEBC for deliberately messing up his re-election bid.
"This is a ploy by IEBC to rig me out. Since 2013 parliamentary elections in Rongai have been rocked by discrepancies. My name is not on the ballot paper,” he said.
Apart from Raymond, the contest has also attracted Chama Cha Mashinani candidate Luka Kigen who is a former area MP
