The making of a candidate – Nabulindo

Matungu MP-elect Peter Oscar Nabulindo finally brought home the victory that eluded his father Moses Nabulindo in 2007. 

The elder Nabulindo, a retired high school principal, unsuccessfully vied for the same seat against then incumbent MP David Were.

When he resigned as a Senate officer in 2016, the man who was elected on Thursday embarked on a community outreach programme dubbed Mashinani Initiative.

The initiative was aimed at eradicating poverty and building houses for widows in the villages.

At the time, Nabulindo said, he had no intention of vying for the Matungu seat.

“I started the projects to help the poor and it was out of pure heart with no intention of ever joining politics,” he said.

One day in 2016, after building a house for an elderly woman in Namamali village, residents started calling him "honorable", which left him thinking about a political career.

He went on and vied for the parliamentary seat in 2017 under Moses Wetang’ula's Ford-Kenya party.

However, Justus Murunga won the election with 18,088 votes, while Nabulindo was second with 10,636 votes and Were third with 8,618 votes.

After the loss, Nabulindo ventured into a hospitality business in Matungu.

When Murunga died, the former Senate officer believed it was his time to take the mantle as he was touted as the best man for the job.

Amani National Congress (ANC), led by Musalia Mudavadi, convened a night meeting with Nabulindo and later announcing that the party was nominating him.

Observers said fear of losing the seat is what informed ANC’s decision to handpick its candidate for the by-election.

Almost all the parties wanted Nabulindo to be their preferred candidate and he even met Deputy President William Ruto.

The meeting was planned by former Sports Cabinet Secretary Rashid Echesa.

According to Echesa, the DP was keen to have Nabulindo as his preferred candidate.

Nabulindo however focused on the prize and finally beat Were who beat his father 14 years ago.