Governor Ole Lenku leads race to succeed Waiguru as CoG chairperson

Kajiado Governor Joseph Ole Lenku, arrives for this year's Mandaraka Day cerebration wearing a maasai traditional regalia. [Peterson Githaiga, Standard]

The succession of Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru as the chairperson of the Council of Governors ( COG) has officially kicked off. with three candidates now seeking to replace her.

Kajiado Governor Joseph Ole Lenku has become the latest entrant in the race for Waiguru successors, bringing to three the number of candidates seeking to occupy the hot seat.

Ol Lenku now joins his Wajir counterparts Ahmed Abdullahi who is also the current Vice Chairperson and Nyeri’s Mutahi Kahiga.

The most sought-after seat among governors plays a critical role in devolution as it is the link between the devolved units and the national government.

This will be Lenku's second stab at the seat, having declared interest in 2022 but dropped at the last minute to give Waiguru a chance.

Waiguru was in 2022 elected as the chairperson becoming the first female governor to hold the seat since the inception of the devolved units.

Following a consensus, Waiguru was again re-elected in 2023 to serve her second term of one year.

Declaring his bid for the seat in Nairobi, Lenku said, “I have submitted my nomination papers to the CoG secretariat. I am determined to finish off the race from where I left it two years ago to give my sister the chance to become the first female occupier of the seat”.

He added that the last polls which were determined through consensus happened just after the elections and therefore concessions had to be made between Kenya Kwanza and Azimio La Umoja Coalition which were smarting from an acrimonious general election.

“We normally adopt consensus because it is a voluntary job that requires total cooperation from all members. We make decisions as brothers and sisters without active political considerations," said Lenku.

In the last polls that were held in Mombasa, Governor Lenku was fronted by the Azimio Coalition while Waiguru was pushed through by the Kenya Kwanza leadership led by Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.

This time, Gachagua has fronted his strong ally, Mutahi Kahiga of Nyeri, with the hope that he will clinch the seat and drive the devolution agenda.

A Kahiga win would mean they will play a key role in devolution together as the Gachagua chairs the strategic Intergovernmental Budget and Economic Council (IBEC).

Sources within the ODM leadership confided that Governor Lenku had discussed his COG bid with his party leader Raila Odinga and gotten his nod to go for it.

It will be interesting to see how the polls slated for October  7 will pan out in the era of the Broad-Based Government crafted by both President William Ruto and Mr Odinga.