Joseph ole Lenku faces tough battle as three heavyweights seek to unseat him

Political rivalry between giants eyeing the Kajiado governor's seat continues to escalate as a fierce battle shapes up between incumbent Joseph ole Lenku and his predecessor David Nkedienye.

As the two eye the seat under Azimio la Umoja, their counterparts from the Kenya Kwanza alliance are preparing for bruising primaries set for tomorrow.

Kajiado South MP Katoo ole Metito and his Kajiado East counterpart Peris Tobiko are leaving nothing to chance. The two have been traversing every corner of the county seeking for support.

The rivalry between Mr Lenku and Dr Nkedianye is fierce that they cannot even be in the same party. 

Recently Mr Lenku decamped from Jubilee to ODM, just a few days after Dr Nkedianye quit the Orange party and joined Jubilee ahead of nominations.

Nkedianye said he left ODM after foreseeing unfairness in the party's nominations "based on the manner the ODM leadership is handling aspirants".

Dr Nkedianye has picked Kajiado North MP Joseph Manje as his running mate. Manje, a member of Jubilee, said the former governor quit ODM because of trust issues.

Mr Lenku's move, on the other hand, is said to have surprised many as he never told anyone about his plans.

The governor is said to have left Jubilee over fears the nominations may be manipulated in favour of Dr Nkedianye, who is trying to recapture the seat he lost in 2017.

Before abandoning ODM, Dr Nkedianye had been pushing to be the party's flagbearer, insisting that Mr Lenku should stick to his Jubilee Party and seek its ticket.

The moves by the governor and his predecessor promise an epic battle should they both get the tickets of their respective parties.

In the last elections, Mr Lenku, who was backed by Jubilee Party of President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto, polled 174,697 votes to dethrone Nkedianye of ODM who garnered 146,652 votes.

Mr Lenku, who addressed supporters at Chungwa House after he officially joined ODM, said the Maa community as well as members of other communities living in Maasai land were supporting Raila.

"I will deliver between 20 and 25 MCA seats. I will deliver the presidential vote to Mr Odinga. The Maa nation is not a battleground in the coming elections. It is an Azimio la Umoja stronghold," said the governor.

Currently, ODM has five elected MCAs in Kajiado, Wiper and PNU have two each, while Jubilee controls the County Assembly with 16 MCAs.

In the United Democratic Alliance (UDA), Mr Metito and Ms Tobiko are also in a tight race for the party ticket.

Speaking to The Standard on the phone, Mr Metito said their team in Kenya Kwanza is ready to face off with the Azimio La Umoja candidate.

"As far as UDA is concerned, we will agree on who will fly the Kenya Kwanza flag. We have already started talking among ourselves. We will have a strong candidate who will win the August 9 polls," he said.

He said it was shameful to see Azimio la Umoja leaders jumping from different parties, saying it was a sign of selfishness.

"The deceit and lack of direction among some governor aspirants are amazing and must be exposed. I have noted with keen interest the trends of opportunism in the party choices that proves they are not worthy of votes," said Mr Metito.

"I am a founder member of UDA and have never wavered. This is the type of leadership needed for our political growth to promote democracy that translates to development through that party's manifesto.

Dr Nkedianye said, "It is the residents of Kajiado who will decide who their next governor will be," adding that Mr Lenku has not done much to deserve re-election. "I challenge him to show us the projects he has started and completed."

"I am not scared of Lenku. He is jumping ship because he has realised the ground is hostile to him. He is the one who is scared of facing me," he added.

At Chungwa House, Raila called on aspirants to remain peaceful. "Our enemies are the people from the other side of the political divide. Let us not have enmity among ourselves."

Other than party affiliations, clans will also be a determining factor. The two main Maasai clans in Kajiado are Orok Kiteng’ (black cow) and Odomong’i (red cow). Normally, the contest is the hottest between Kaputiei and Kisongo sub-clans.

Messrs Lenku and Metito hail from Ilkisongo sub-clan while Ms Tobiko and Dr Nkedianye are from Ilkaputiei sub-clan.