Keiyo South parliamentary race intensifies after Speaker joins contest

Keiyo South MP Gideon Kimaiyo. [Courtesy]

The entry of Elgeyo Marakwet County Assembly Speaker Lawi Kibire into the Keiyo South parliamentary race has ruffled political feathers.

Kibire’s move has rattled Gideon Kimaiyo, the incumbent, who has accused Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen of meddling with the affairs of his constituency.

Kibire, a close ally of Murkomen, enters the fray, paving the way for a bruising battle for the President William Ruto-led United Democratic Alliance (UDA) ticket. Still, Kimaiyo feels Murkomen is fronting the speaker to humiliate him politically.

Apart from Kimaiyo and Kibire, others who will battle it out for the UDA ticket are veteran Elgeyo Marakwet County politician Micah Kigen and Alex Kipkemboi Rotich alias 'Mangara'.

Kimaiyo, who has been embroiled in a protracted political battle of supremacy for control of Elgeyo Marakwet County politics, yesterday hit out at Murkomen, a former Elgeyo Marakwet Senator, for imposing leaders on the electorate.

Mogotio MP Reuben Kiborek, a close ally of Murkomen, however, sought to assure Kimaiyo that there were no preferred candidates for the UDA ticket in Rift Valley or any other part of the country ahead of next year's polls.

"Don't create imaginary enemies or fight imaginary wars that will eventually consume you. By the time you realise you’ve been shadow-boxing a non-existent enemy, the real political battle may already be lost," Kiborek wrote in response to Kimaiyo.

"In politics, not everyone who disagrees with you is your enemy. Sometimes, your greatest enemy is the war you created in your own mind," he added.

But in a quick rejoinder, Kimaiyo hit out at Kiborek for being part of the scheme to impose 'political projects' on the electorate ahead of the 2027 elections.

Kimaiyo has maintained that he has done a lot in his first term in office and called on the electorate to re-elect him for a second term.

"If we have to compete on development record, I've got all it takes; Sonko also has all the requisite academic qualifications. I also have all the leadership qualities," Kimaiyo said.

Internal rivalry between leaders in Elgeyo Marakwet County played out during the recently concluded UDA primaries for Metkei ward in Keiyo South.

Though Philip Kipkosgei Kipruto alias Chebolei clinched the party's ticket and later won the ward seat, the battle was widely seen to be between Kimaiyo and Kibire.

Kimaiyo and Kibire have been embroiled in a protracted battle of supremacy for control of Keiyo South politics.

In the Metkei ward by-election, Kimaiyo was in favour of Chebolei, and openly campaigned for him. At the same time, Kibire threw his weight behind Daniel Kipruto Chirchir, another UDA aspirant and former Metkei ward MCA.

Interestingly, Kibire had floored Chebolei in the 2022 elections before he resigned in 2024 and was subsequently elected Elgeyo Marakwet County Assembly Speaker.

Keiyo South Constituency has 62,397 registered voters and 158 polling stations with six wards, according to data from IEBC.

Kimaiyo trounced Daniel Rono alias 'Kamlesh' in the 2022 elections, who had served for one term after taking over from Jackson Kiptanui, who served for two terms.

Kigen, on his part, is seeking to turn the tables in the Keiyo South parliamentary race after being three times unlucky.

He is banking on his efforts to transform lives in the community through Health empowerment and community-driven initiatives through his Kagoech Foundation Trust to unseat Kimaiyo in next year's polls.