Will Kinyanjui’s ‘decent politics’ transcend UDA, Azimio rivalry?

Nakuru Governor Lee Kinyanjui.

The battle for Nakuru County’s top seat is getting more fierce by the day.

Seasoned and influential politicians are scheming for the fight of their life for the coveted seat in a county that has an average annual budget of Sh18 billion.

But the contenders will not find it easy to unseat Lee Kinyanjui, who has established himself as a calm politician with a focus on development and social integration.

Senator Susan Kihika, her predecessor James Mungai, Gidraph Mwangi, businessmen Stanley Karanja and Elijah Chege are hoping to win over most of the voters in the cosmopolitan county.

Governor Kinyanjui has aligned himself with President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM leader Raila Odinga.

He is confident that the Azimio la Umoja, and his impressive development record will propel him to a second term.

As part of his re-election strategy, Kinyanjui has formed a political party, Ubuntu People’s Forum (UPF), which is among 27 political outfits that have joined the Azimio-One Kenya coalition.

There was speculation that the governor might return to the revamped Jubilee Party.

Kinyanjui has, however, dismissed the talk. “I will be defending my position as Nakuru Governor on UPF party. A captain never deserts his ship. He protects and leads his passengers to victory,” he said.

Mungai, Dr Karanja and Mwangi are expected to fight it out for the Jubilee ticket in the primaries.

Kinyanjui is reaching out to minority communities. According to statistics from the electoral agency, 58 per cent of the county’s registered voters are Kikuyu, 24 per cent Kalenjin and 18 per cent from other communities.

To get a second term, the governor is also banking on his development record.

Pundits say the governor’s move to complete projects started by his predecessor Kinuthia Mbugua has portrayed him as a prudent manager.

“His (Kinyanjui) decision to ensure projects like the Margaret Kenyatta Mother and Baby Maternity Unit is completed was a stroke of genius. He ensured that most of the projects that he inherited were completed in his first term,” said Andrew Nyabuto, a local political commentator.

The elevation of Nakuru municipality to city status, ongoing upgrade of the Lanet airstrip into an international airport and the improvement of rural roads through the Boresha Barabara project are some of the key projects Kinyanjui has initiated, some with the help of the national government.

Others are the construction of level 4 hospitals in Molo and Naivasha, an outpatient block and an oxygen plant at the Rift Valley Provincial General Hospital.

On unemployment, Kinyanjui said his administration has offered paid internship to youth who have completed university and plans to gradually absorb them when vacancies arise. He also spoke of a programme to entice the youth to embrace agriculture and self-employment.

Under the programme, 90 car wash machines, 115 motorcycles, 446 shaving machines, 506 hair blow dryers and 488 fishing nets, among other items, have bee distributed to over 200 youth groups.

Kinyanjui might have performed well, but that may not thwart the threat from his competitors.

Kihika, the former Jubilee Majority Whip in the Senate, has been a thorn in the flesh of Kinyanjui’s administration. The senator once questioned the governor’s priorities when he purchased two buses for use during public events like funerals and school trips.

But the governor dismissed the criticism as mere politics, saying schools can now spend money on other materials instead of buying buses.

“These schools need laboratories, classrooms or libraries. They use the county courtesy buses to attend sports, festivals or any other events and focus on establishing these important facilities,” the governor said.

In February 2020, Kihika took the governor head-on before the Senate over claims that the county government had dumped street children in a forest in Baringo.

Children dumped

“The submissions from the affected street children reveal that at least 41 children were forcibly removed from the streets by county officials, held in detention and later on the night of February 6, 2019, dumped in Chemasusu Forest,” a report by the Committee on Labour and Social Welfare read.

But Kinyanjui trashed the report, terming its conclusions and recommendations “at best a joke” that reflects a preconceived political position disguised as a report of a House committee.

Kihika is also reminding voters of her efforts to seek justice for families that were affected by the 2018 Solai Dam tragedy in which over 50 people died and dozens of homesteads and businesses destroyed.

In her campaigns, the daughter of Kanu-era MP Kihika Kimani is likely to perceived failures of the county government to attack the governor.

Kihika said she intends to improve the lives of Nakuru residents by implementing the UDA economic bottom-up model.

“I’m well aware of the challenges people of Nakuru are facing; youth unemployment, lack of capital and a conducive environment for small scale traders,” she said during a recent campaign rally.

Kihika seems to have changed tact from the flashy campaign she mounted in 2017 to organised groups.

Her persistent criticism has made the race a contest between a leader who has won continental leadership awards and a political firebrand who takes no prisoners.

The governor was the 2020 winner of the African Magazine Leadership Award, which recognises a state or regional leaders across the continent.

He was recognised forcreating a conducive environment for small- and medium-scale traders.

Last month, Kinyanjui, together with six other county employees, was feted as the most progressive governor at the 2022 County Gala Awards in Mombasa.

As Kinyanjui plays what he terms as ‘decent politics’, the former Nakuru County Assembly Speaker has gone full-throttle on vocal politics to become one of the trusted allies of DP William Ruto.

Mr Mungai will be seeking to make a political comeback after five years in the political cold.

The former senator lost the 2017 gubernatorial race as an independent candidate. He has been meeting groups of youth, women, boda boda riders and professionals.

“Poverty and joblessness can be addressed by putting more effort in agriculture, industries and tourism sectors, which have great untapped potential,” he said.

Dr Karanja has been visible with branded vehicles, billboards, posters and printed merchandise. He has been meeting stakeholders in the formal and informal sectors.

“A good leader is one who is a servant of the people, we must become servants first,” he said.

And Mr Mwangi has been campaigning on a youth agenda. “I promise to give 70 per cent of appointments to young people who are educated and skilled. I will also establish a Ministry of Youth Affairs. I will prioritise youth in the awarding tenders,” says the 29-year-old aspirant.