Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei during a fundraiser in aid of Kiboswa Seventh Day Adventist Church in Lelmokwo Ngechek, Chesumei Constituency of Nandi County on March 11, 2023.
Nandi Senator Samson Kiprotich Cherargei who is serving his second term is a politician who does not shy away from stirring and jumping into controversy.
While many of his ilk restrain themselves in public utterance on the myriad of issues and challenges in society, Cherargei is the complete opposite, taking on everything and anything thrown his way, without holding back.
The lawyer-turned-lawmaker has ruffled feathers of those in high places in society both on the floor of parliament, in public functions and during media interviews.
Mr Cherargei has been in the news lately for seeking to push the Presidential, Parliamentary and Gubernatorial term from five to seven years which has stirred a political storm in the country.
Still, he has emerged as a fierce defender of impeached Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua – who is fighting in the corridors of justice, to retain his position after President William Ruto threw him under the bus.
Outspoken yet calculated?
Ms Caroline Cherotich, a political commentator said the Senator stands out as one who speaks his mind on issues affecting the society, without minding the political repercussions.
“Mr Cherargei has identified himself with those politicians taking on the government when it appears to commit ills against the people, while at the same time, he has defended President William Ruto on a number of issues, making it difficult for his critics in government to completely put him down politically” Ms Cherotich said.
Mr Cherargei’s position on the impeachment, holding on to Mr Gachagua’s corner when his friends from Rift Valley, President Ruto’s backyard, were deserting him in the hour of need, tells a lot about his character as a politician.
A high number of MPs from Rift Valley who previously enjoyed a dalliance with Mr Gachagua as a result of political pressure and fear of reprisal recoiled their tails and joined the chorus for the DP to exit the stage paving the way for Interior Cabinet Secretary Professor Kithure Kindiki to take the mantle at the second most powerful seat in the land.
“We have not given the Deputy President a hearing in the interest of justice….” Mr Cherargei said during the Senate hearing, standing out as the only legislator in the Kalenjin Rift Valley remaining in the embattled DP’s political corner.
He went on to take a hit at the National Assembly for impeaching Mr Gachagua on flimsy grounds including on renovation of the official residence, yet he was not the accounting officer and on funds that were yet having been appropriated by the house.
“As chairman of the Intergovernmental Budget and Economic Council (IBEC), there is no way the Deputy President could have undermined devolution as claimed in one of the 11 charges facing him. The mover of the impeachment motion was on a fishing expedition” Mr Cherargei said.
Cherargei vs Murkomen
The Senator has had a no-holds-barred public spat with Cabinet Secretary for Sports Kipchumbe Murkomen and Nandi Governor Stephen Sang over a number of socio-economic and political issues, both at the local and national level.
One of the issues relating to corruption in the road sector – when Mr Murkomen served as CS for Roads – has ended up in court with the CS suing the politician – a former fellow Senator for defamation.
He has also criticised the CS for an alleged display of opulence in what he said is insensitive to the Kenyans struggling to make ends meet in hard economic times facing the country.
Roads and Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has sued Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei for defamation.
From the leaking roofs at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airports (JKIA) to roll out of road construction projects in the country and especially in Rift Valley which they both come from and the political supremacy battles, the Senator has not lost an opportunity to take potshots at the CS.
Mr Murkomen is a former Senate Majority Leader and was thrice elected Elgeyo Marakwet Senator before resigning to join President Ruto’s cabinet following the August 9, 2022, general election.
“When I raised the issue of a show of opulence by those in government including CSs and Members of Parliament, I was blasted and described as a dimwit. But the protests by Genzs vindicated my position,” Mr Cherargei said recently in an interview.
He has also had a seemingly unending tiff with Governor Sang over alleged mismanagement of county resources and corruption in the county, which sometimes has been seen to be tethering on personal attacks as opposed to demanding for accountability and oversight role.
'Cutting both ways'
Mr Sigey Bett, a Nairobi-based advocate said the Senator cuts both ways, raising serious issues while at times seen to be petty in approach.
“Cherargei’s irritating approach to issues is understood because of his background, coming from Nandi, a region that has historically produced fiery politicians who have stood up to the state and left an indelible mark in Kenya’s democratic space,” Mr Bett said.
Nandi county has been the home of outspoken politicians including Mr Jean-Marie Seroney, Ms Jelagat Mutai and lately former Nandi Hills Member of Parliament Alfred Keter.
In parliament, the Senator has repeatedly attracted the ire of the speaker for their approach to issues, veering off from the rules of the house. He has repeatedly been thrown out of the chamber as a result, but that has not subsequently helped to cool him down.
Despite being a lawyer well versed with the Constitution 2010 and the laws of the land on separation of powers between the various arms of government, the senator is on record publicly advising President Ruto to ignore the courts' injunctions on various issues.
“Mr President, ignore the courts and proceed to implement your development agenda in the country. We can use the orders of the courts as tissue paper,” he told Dr Ruto during a tour of Nandi county early this year.
Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei (left) with the then Deputy President William Ruto at a past event.
He has identified himself as a defender of devolution and entrenching of county governments in the current constitutional order, despite his holding the view that corruption has been devolved in the country.
“Corruption has been devolved to counties and with proper audits and action by relevant government agencies, three-quarters of the Governors would be in jail,” Mr Cherargei said.
But he has taken on the National Assembly for repeatedly seeking to starve counties of funding in what would roll back the gains of devolution in the last 12 years in the country.
“The National Assembly continues to defile the Constitution and undermine devolution by reducing the allocation of resources to counties” Mr Cherargei stated.
Governor Sang and Senator Cherargei have for the last two terms been engaged in public spat over the implementation of development projects, accountability and alleged corruption.
Nandi Governor Stephen Sang and Senator Samson Cherargei. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
Mr Sang in a letter to Mr Cherargei last year at the height of their bickering over the Governor’s appearance at the Senate before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) and the Public Investments Committee (PIC), described the senator as petty.
“You have been choosing to engage in sideshows that often baffle your colleagues. You were on several occasions dismissed by your colleagues as being petty and juvenile” Mr Sang stated in the letter to Mr Cherargei.
The Governor claimed the Senator displayed a “lack of emotional acuity to deeply delve into issues captured in the Auditor General’s reports”
Though he has not made it public, the Senator is said to harbor gubernatorial ambitions in Nandi County.
