News analysis By Leo
Odera Omolo In Kericho
The bouncing back to life by the hitherto adamant and sleeping United Democratic Movement (UDM) has sent shockwaves in the South Rift region, particular when two parliamentary by elections is taking place.
The by-election in Bomet and Sotik constituencies were occasioned by the deaths of two ODM MP, Kipkalya Kones ( Bomet) and Ms Lorna Laboso (Sotik). The two perished in an aircraft accident in Konjong’a area of Narok District on June 10,2008.
In Bomet, Mrs Beatric Kones clinched the ODM ticket trouncing a battery of men and a fellow woman in the primaries. She will be the official party candidate at the by-elections which is scheduled for September 24 while in the neighbouring Sotik Constituency, Dr. Mrs Joyce Laboso Abonyo, the eldest sister of the late Lorna Laboso beat half a dozen of women and men to clinch the ODM ticket.
The two iron ladies, however, are still to face the stiffest opposition from men standing on other parties tickets. The UDM is posing a serious threat in both Bomet and Sotikl. But KANU too, cannot be written off as it has enormous influence in the two constituencies. If Nick Salat get KANU sponsorship in Bomet, he is expected to give Mrs Kones a run for her money.
Salat despite having stuck with KANU is a popular leader on his own right, while his party’s popularity has waned drastically in the region, and it would be a tall order for any KANU sponsored aspirant to perform miracle in the election proper.
The emergency of the UDM is likely to pose a serious threat to the ODM which won the parliamentary seat in the Kipsigis region in December 2007 and topped up its victory with an extra seat in the diaspora.
That was an added value to the ODM supremacy in the South Rift, when the former powerful Ps in charge of Internal Security and Provincial Administration Zakayo K Cheruiyot won the Kuresoi seat in the newly created Molo district with a landslide majority against a PNU candidate. This brought the number of the Kipsigis Parliamentary strength to nine.
Cheruiyot and other ODM MPs in the region have since revolted and are likely to ditch the party citing numerous issues as the bone of contention.
The issues include the alleged marginalization of the Kipsigis community by the grand coalition government, removal of members of the community from civil services and armed forces, the planned mass eviction of close to 20,000 squatters families from the controversial Mau Forest Complex, the sacking of their people from lucrative jobs within the parastatals and quasi-government organizations, failure by the government to appoint their people in the parastatal boards and refusal to nominate any of their on in the national assembly.
But all are not well for the ODM ,a party which is lead by the Prime Minister Raila Amolo Odinga. Its members have been heard openly criticizing the party nomination system as being open to corruption and manipulation.
A good number of the aspirants already campaigning on the ground have said they have no confidence with the man entrusted with the responsibility of ensuring that the party primaries are held in accordance to its constitution as laid down.
The man in charge of ODM is Eng Philip Okoth Okundi the first ageing ODM MP for Rangwe
Okundi failed the test of competency and proficiency when he recently handled the four by-elections, one in Kilgoris,Embakasi,Ainamoi and one in NFD
ODM supporters in Kericho maintain that the primaries for the Ainamoi by election was the worset flawed and that Okundi even failed to order a recount of the voters after he was allegedly directed to do so by the party leader Raila Odinga, and that he easily got succumbed to threats by William Ruto the Agriculture Minister and went on to declare Benjamin Kiplang’at the Winner though the electorate believe the Lt Gen (rtd) John Koech had won the primaries votes.
Gen Koech protested and Raila was reported to have instructed Okundi to ensure there was a fair play in the exercise . Insiders have, however. confided to us that Okundi had easily succumbed to Ruto’s threats and abdicated from his duties of ensuring that the elections were free and fair.
The most aspirants who vied for the by-elections on the ODM tickets in both Bomet and Sotik have complained bitterly of massive rigging and irregularities. There were more aspirants on ODM ticket than any other political parties. The party leaders must seriously address its flawed primaries system ,which has a lot of loopholes and the aspirants says that fair play would only be realized with the removal of Eng Okundi , whose weakness costed the party seats in Embkasi and Kilgoris constituencies in other recenly concluded by-elections and also facilitated falsified victory of Ben Langat in Ainamoi
Concerted efforts are being put in place to rally ODM supporters in the two constituencies to vote for its official candidates who will emerge victorious after the primaries. But pundits were quick in saying that the mass fallout is expected after the primaries.
The by elections came at the time when the political temperatures in the Kipsigis region seemed to favour the UDM and when the ODM fortune are dwindling and nose diving much faster.
Already six MPs from the Kipsigis community have made it publicly clear that they were considering an altenative political party to support in future elections. Most of these MPs are also vehemently opposed to the government planned eviction of thousands of squatters from the Mau Forest Complex.
The UDM a party which has been rejuvenated by the arrival of Gen Koech as the new party leader had given ODM a serious scare during the AInamoi by-elections when its candidate Dr.Paul Chepkeroncy a Moi University senior lecturre ganernered 16,000 against ODm Ben Langat 17,000 votes. Fear persist that UDM could easily turn the table on the ODM in the Bomet and Sotik by-elections taking into account the prevailing charge political tension in the South Rift region.
Bomet constituency has an interesting history ever since Its inception in the early 1970. The two dominant political families belonging to the late Issac Kipkorir Salat and the late Donald Kirprono Kipkalya Kones have dominated the politics of the area. The two families have held on the Bomet Seat ever since its inception and there is the dissenting voices demanding for radical surgery and change of stewardship.
One aspirant who had stand to enhance his chances and that is Mr.Steve Mutai the former administrator with the Tenwek Mission Hospital. But he performed poorly for the second time at the primaries Also in the race is Mr.Sammy Maina ,a senior manager with the KETEPA Tea Packing Company in Kericho. He too ,could not match the euphoria of Mrs Kones. Mr.Sam Sigei, the brother in-law of Mrs Ida Odinga whoi also performed dismally dispite of his high profile candidacy . Previously Sigei had been the chief campaigner for the late Kones.
Prof Wilson Sitonik and a former diplomat but now a Nairobi business woman Ms Lila Siele is among the more than half dozens aspirants who will battle it out for the control of 80,584 votes in Bomet.The outcome of this week’s ODM preliminaries in both Bomet and sotik are likely to result in massive fallout and discontent by the followers of aspirants who lost in the primaries, and UDM is said to be standing by to harvest the residues.
In the neighbouring sotik the former Nairobi P.C Francis Sigei also lost the race for the second timeto the firebrand Dr.Joyce Laboso Abonyo,the late Lorna Laboso sister,Mrs and the hitherto touted to be on the front runbner Mrs Cicilia Ng’etich the former headmistress of Kaiplong Girls Secondary School and another iron lady Ms Beatrice Chebomoi ,Mr. Paul Mutai,Coun.David Rotich the former MP Antony (Sotet) Kimeto,Eng Stanley Rotich who it was being alleged to be the blue-eyed boy for William Ruto in the area all perfomedpoorly in the primaries. Some of these candidates as expected are going to jump on the tickets of other parties to contest in the election proper, but that too would be an up-hill task to perform
The signs that all are not well were the last weeks actions by Sotik aspirants who prevailed upon the sotik constituency elders Forum to petition ODM headquarters to disband the party’s current election board led by Eng Okundi.
The aspirants wanted the board which oversaw part’s preliminaries nomination for the sotik by-election.
The close to ten aspirants spoke at a meeting in which they presented their visions for the constituency.
In the neigbouring Mrs Beatrcie kones was recently anointed by the Kapbencherek sub-clan to contest the seat in the by-election . But pundits says this was a misplaced and miscalculated action which has already started working against Mr.Kones on the ground.
Reports emerging from the ground indicated that Nick Salat , the outspoken former MP for the area who had successfully floored the late Kones in the year 2002 is the man to watch.
Salat has stuck to KANU and its said to be contesting the election of that party ticket through his supporters has been urging him to switch to the UDM.
This is also an air of discontent against the two political families which have dominated the constituency political ever since the creation in t he early 1970s. These are the Kones and the Salats.
The late Isaac Kipkorir Salat ,a close confidant of retired President Daniel Arap Moi become the first Bomet MP in the early 1970s when it hugs hived from the larger Chepalungu until his death.
After the death of Salat who served the various KANU regime as an Assitant Minister,came the popular Kipkalya Kones who was later to dominate the politics of Bomet for close to two decades . Kones representation,however was briefly interrupted by a resounding defeat by Nick Salat in 2002.
Kones had ditched KANU following what was perceived to be disagreement on matter of principles between him and Moi. He was twice sacked by Moi once while serving the Minister of State in the OP and later as the Minister for works. But he bounced back with thuds in 2007.
There is an air of discontent among the electorate who now wants a change from the Kones and Salats to anew face in order to effect meaningful change in the Bomet political front.
And the entry of UDM in the two by-elections is therefore viewed as representing the desired change. But it will depend on the quality of the candidates who must be men and women with an attractive track of development and individual integrity.
Ends
leooderaomolo@yahoo.com
– – –
Date: Sat, 30 Aug 2008 02:14:50 -0700 (PDT)
From: Leo Odera Omolo
Subject: UDM’S ENTRY INTO BOMET AND SOTIK BY ELECTIONS SENT SHOCKWAVES TO ODM, PNU AND KANU PARTIES