Ntimama10: Land fight, Maasai unity and Ruto re-election dominate memorial.

Prime cabinet secretary Musalia Mudavadi (M with Godfather hat) accompanied Kajiado Governor Joseph ole Lenku and other leaders in Motonyi, Narok North sub county for the 10 memorial services of the late cabinet minister William Ole Ntimama on Saturday 12, 2026.[George Sayagi]

The political legacy of the late Maasai leader William Ole Ntimama took centre stage at his 10th memorial on Saturday, with Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi calling for a peaceful, petition-free re-election of President William Ruto while Kajiado Governor Joseph Ole Lenku urged the Maa community to back the President and use its political influence to secure its interests.

The leaders spoke against the backdrop of Ntimama’s decades-long campaign for Maasai land rights and against historical injustices, bringing land, Maasai unity and political representation to the centre of the commemoration at his Motonyi home.

Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, the chief guest, used his personal history with Ntimama to reflect on the late politician’s contribution to public service and his defence of the Maasai community.

Mudavadi said he worked alongside Ntimama in the Ministry of Local Government, where the two interacted while serving in government. He said the experience gave him an opportunity to witness first-hand Ntimama’s approach to leadership and public affairs.

 He described Ntimama as a politician who could be an uncomfortable voice because he spoke forcefully and without hesitation when defending issues he believed were important to his people.

“He was not always a comfortable voice. He said it loudly and in whatever means to make it happen his way,” Mudavadi said.

Mudavadi said Ntimama worked through successive administrations and remained an influential voice on issues affecting the Maasai, particularly community land and historical injustices.

 He also highlighted Ntimama’s contribution to education and public libraries, saying the former minister donated books and supported library services, including what became known as the Ntimama Corner.

Mudavadi said Ntimama’s political legacy should not simply be remembered through speeches but carried forward by current leaders by protecting community land and finding ways of adding economic value to it.

“Ntimama left us, but as leaders we should amplify the voice of Ntimama for it to be heard,” Mudavadi said.

 He also called for political peace, urging leaders and their supporters to maintain peace before, during and after the 2027 elections.

Mudavadi said they wanted a petition-free election for President Ruto to win in the first round.

 Governor Lenku took the land and political representation debate further, saying the Maa community should abandon what he described as a permanent opposition posture and instead negotiate for its interests from the national political table.

 He cited the Mau Forest, Amboseli, Magadi and other land questions as issues that required a united Maasai position.

“We have been crying babies in opposition, but we will not do that again. We will go fighting for what is ours on the negotiating table,” Lenku said.

 He said the community should support Ruto in the 2027 presidential election to secure a stronger position in government.

“We support Ruto in the next election so that the Maa Nation will be at the negotiating table,” he said.

Lenku also called for the protection of community land through devolution, saying county governments should use their powers to defend the interests of local communities.

“Let’s defend devolution because it’s the hope of the future of our community,” he said.

 He said the Maa community had historically been accommodative of other communities and called for reciprocity in political and economic opportunities.

Lenku also said the government’s engagement with issues affecting the Maasai, including Mau Forest and Amboseli, had helped place the community’s concerns on the national agenda.

Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga brought the ODM perspective to the memorial, linking Ntimama’s political legacy to the late former Prime Minister Raila Odinga.

Wanga said Ntimama and Raila shared political positions on land rights and the Mau Forest, arguing that the late Maasai leader played a role in shaping the community’s relationship with ODM.

“The Maa community supported ODM because of Ntimama. He shared similar values with Raila on land rights and the Mau Forest,” Wanga said.

Wanga also recalled Raila’s engagement with the Maa community before the formation of the broad-based government, saying he sought the community’s views through Senator Ledama Ole Kina.

She said ODM remained part of the broad-based arrangement because of its opposition to tribalism and politics that promote hatred between communities.

 Senator Ledama Ole Kina gave a personal account of Ntimama’s influence, crediting the late politician with helping shape his education and political outlook.

Ole Kina said Ntimama supported his pursuit of higher education in the United States and taught him the importance of unity and love for the community.

“I stand here not as a senator, but as a Maasai son whom he brought up,” Ole Kina said.

 He described Ntimama as a defender of Maasai land and community heritage who opposed the sale of land.

“Ntimama was a land defender. He was against the sale of land and believed that land is not a burden; land is pasture,” he said.

EALA MP David Ole Sankok endorsed Lenku as a successor to Ntimama and former Tanzanian leader Edward Sokoine in providing political leadership and representation for the Maa community.

“As the Maa community, we recognise the position played by Ntimama as our leader, our spokesman,” Sankok said.

 The memorial brought together senior national and county leaders, politicians from different political formations, members of the Maasai Council of Elders and representatives of the wider Maa community.

Among those present were  Kajiado Governor Joseph Ole Lenku, Senator Ledama Ole Kina, Narok North MP Gabriel Tongoyo, Narok East MP Ken Aramat, EALA MP David Ole Sankok, Narok Woman

Representative Rebecca Tonkei, Education PS Joseph Olooltua, former Narok Governor Samuel Tunai and Narok County Assembly Speaker Davis Dikirr.

 Also present were Raila Odinga’s son, Raila Junior, representatives of the family of former Tanzanian Prime Minister Edward Lowassa through their some Fred Lowuasa, members of the Maasai Council of Elders and other local leaders.

 The ceremony began with the launch of a biography of Ntimama written by his daughter Lydia together with Maasai Mara University academic Tabitha Sawe.

 Lydia said the book sought to tell the story of her father through his leadership, loyalty and political struggles, and called for the Ntimama mausoleum at Motonyi to be declared a national heritage site.

The family also presented Tumpes  Ntimama as its preferred successor to his father in the Narok North parliamentary seat and handed him over to Governor Lenku.

The memorial’s political significance emerged from the convergence of senior figures from the government, ODM and the wider Maa political establishment at a time when parties and leaders were positioning themselves ahead of the 2027 General Election.

Mudavadi’s call for a peaceful, petition-free Ruto victory and Lenku’s explicit endorsement of the President represented the clearest pro-government message at the gathering.

Wanga’s remarks, meanwhile, placed ODM’s relationship  with Ntimama and the late Raila Odinga with the memorial, particularly around land rights and the Mau Forest.

 The different political messages were anchored in an issue central to Ntimama’s career: the defence of Maasai land and the community’s political ability to protect its interests.

Ten years after his death, the Motonyi memorial has therefore provided a platform for leaders to revisit Ntimama’s enduring themes of land rights, Maasai unity, political representation and peaceful politics, while also offering competing views on how the community should position itself ahead of the 2027 elections.