Parties re-group to drum up support for Bungoma by-election

By ROBERT WANYONYI

Political parties have started strategising to win the Bungoma Senate seat following the nullification of Moses Wetang’ula as Senator on Monday.

Ford-Kenya Secretary-General Dr Eseli Simiyu, in an exclusive interview with The Standard, exhibited optimism that the lion party would recapture the seat through Wetang’ula.

Eseli said those who are salivating over the seat will get a rude shock, adding that Ford-Kenya has the machinery ready on the ground to ensure Wetang’ula, who is a Cord principal, romps back to the Senate where he was the minority leader.

“We are not taking any chances even as the appeal that we have filed at the Court of Appeal goes on. This is our seat and we have been robbed through spirited machinations,” he said.

“What I want to tell you now is that we intend to win it with an even bigger margin than the one some people were contesting,”stressed Eseli.

The Tongaren MP confirmed that since the ruling, Cord principals, former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, former Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka and Wetang’ula have held several meetings and agreed that Wetang’ula should defend his seat on a Ford-Kenya ticket to continue strengthening the opposition inside the Senate.

Grassroot teams

“As a way of showing our commitment, we will be in Bungoma County this weekend to plan together with our grassroot teams. We have overwhelming support and just like it was branded on Monday, the forthcoming by-election in Bungoma is going to be a ‘Makueni reloaded’,” boasted Eseli.

Meanwhile, New Ford-Kenya, under the leadership of former Justice minister Eugene Wamalwa, is also on the ground planning to front the best candidate to wrestle the seat from Wetang’ula.

The party has had two meetings since the Monday ruling but contrary to Ford-Kenya, which has already settled on its party leader (Wetang’ula) to carry the Cord ticket in the contest, several names have already cropped up from New Ford Kenya.

Vihiga Senator George Khaniri announced that UDF commands a big following in all the four counties of the former Western Province and that the party will be banking on this support to win another seat in the Senate through the Bungoma by-election.

Khaniri’s sentiments have, however, not gone down well with a section of Wamalwa’s loyalists, who have accused him of trying to create a wedge in the Amani Coalition and said they will only respond officially if Mudavadi speaks on the matter himself.

The Standard has reliably learnt that even though former Webuye MP Musikari Kombo successfully filed the election petition that nullified Wetang’ula’s victory, he is not assured of a direct ticket as many thought, with rumours also emerging that Kombo might not even contest the seat.