Battle of egos as campaigns close ahead of Kibra election

Deputy President William Ruto shakes hands with Jubilee Party candidate McDonald Mariga in Kibera. [Collins Kweyu]

Just days to Kibra parliamentary by-election, political parties are leaving nothing to chance as campaigns enter the homestretch.

The contest is seen as a supremacy contest between ODM leader Raila Odinga and Deputy President William Ruto.

Though the by-election to fill the position left vacant following the death area MP Ken Okoth has attracted 24 candidates, it has been dominated by ODM candidate Bernard Imran Okoth, Jubilee’s McDonald Mariga and Eliud Owalo of Amani National Congress.

Yesterday, with one day to the close of campaigns, Raila tore into Ruto, accusing him of making false promises to Kibra voters. “He is the Deputy President, for heaven’s sake, what was stopping him from doing all this only to wait for this time to start making empty promises to the people of Kibra?” the ODM leader posed.

The opposition leader and DP have used the by-election as another moment of political spurring, and in so doing, they have exposed the tribal arithmetic that belies Kenyan elections.

Challenges

In a constituency dogged with many challenges such as youth unemployment, crime, lack of proper amenities, reliable electricity, affordable housing and unreliable water supply, the issues affecting the electorate have been trivialised by party leaders eager to gain political mileage.

Raila accompanied by governors James Ongwae (Kisii) and John Nyagarama (Nyamira) met the Kisii community in Kibra and asked them to support the ODM candidate.

On Thursday, Mariga, who has promised to address issues affecting the youth, toured parts of the populous slum with a team mostly comprised of Luhya legislators who drummed up support for him.

The by-election has been turned into a mini-census for the Luhya, Luo and Kisii communities, believed to be the majority in the constituency.

It is these numbers that the party leaders hope the candidates will ride on to win the bruising battle.

For NASA, the by-election looks to be the final nail in the once formidable coalition, with ODM Secretary General Edwin Sifuna saying that after November 7 the party will quit the rocky marriage.

“We have our friends from NASA who want to use the opportunity to formalise their divorce from the coalition,” Mr Sifuna said on Thursday, referring to ANC which has sponsored Raila’s former aide Owalo, and Ford-Kenya, which fronted Khamisi Butichi.

“Out of this by-election, we are going to count our friends and our enemies. New alliances will be formed. We are counting on our friends like Maina Kamanda (Jubilee), Cleophas Malala and Geoffrey Osotsi (both of ANC) in this election,” Sifuna said.

Kibra has complicated already strained relationships not only within NASA but within Jubilee as well.

Jubilee stalwarts like Kamanda have been openly campaigning for the ODM candidate Imran. It would be interesting to see the reaction that an Imran or Mariga win would do to the rival parties.

“For Ruto, a victory for Mariga will be a political statement that his influence on Nairobi politics is becoming strong and visible,” said Javas Bigambo, a political analyst.

Ruto will be back in Kibra on Sunday for his final pitch. His messaging has been consistent. Telling residents that he is confident Mariga will win the seat and make a political statement. But as these two sides trade barbs, ANC looks to upset the cart. Whereas the ODM candidate ran most of his late brother’s political activities during the time he was ailing and understands Kibra, Owalo’s interaction with Raila plus his background having lived in Kibra has put him at an advantage in the contest.

“I have a strong-will, conviction and zeal to make life more bearable for the good people of Kibra,” said Owalo.

His candidature has stocked feelings of betrayal among the ODM top brass, and his being sponsored by ANC, a party led by one of NASA principals, smacks of an end of the dance between Raila, Mudavadi, Moses Wetangula and Wiper’s Kalonzo Musyoka.

Pundits say, the results of the by-election will have casualties on both sides of the political divide and victory for either side will come at a cost.

Raila desperately needs victory for Imran so that he can rubber stamp ODM’s control of the constituency’s politics that he led as MP for Lang’ata for two decades.

After the loss of two seats in Ugenya and Wajir west which were ODM parliamentary seats, the defeat in Kibra will be the worst political nightmare for the Orange party which has termed the constituency Raila’s ‘bedroom.’

In the Wajir West seat, the area MP Ahmed Kolosh who had lost his seat in an election petition defected to Jubilee and was elected while in Ugenya David Ochieng trounced ODM’s Otieno Karan.

For Ruto and Mudavadi, a victory for their candidates will be a loaded statement that they believe will reverberate up to 2022.

A week ago in a had hitting statement seemingly targeting the ODM leader, Mudavadi said they would not allow politics of rhetoric to control Kibra.

The ANC leader fired a salvo by promising to liberate the people from the grip of individuals who regard it as their “doormat and personal property.” Suna East MP Junet Mohamed had told the residents that the constituency was Raila’s bedrock and it was for the him to decide who leads in the area.