LESSONS

Local interests triumphed over politics in South Mugirango when little known Ford People’s Manson Nyamweya outwitted PNU and ODM candidates to win the by-election on Thursday.

PNU and ODM leaders were still in shock Friday, wondering where they had gone wrong in the campaigns that drew big guns like Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka to the area.

Mr Nyamweya romped home with 14,099 votes. PDM’s Omingo Magara, who had the full backing of PNU, came a distant second with 8,885 votes while ODM’s Ibrahim Ochoi was third with 7,638 votes.

Underdog

The humbling defeat by a contestant perceived as an underdog sounded a clear warning to politicians that addressing local needs, rather than a show of might complete with helicopters and top-of-the-range vehicles, was paramount.

Mr Odinga led a powerful ODM force to South Mugirango to campaign for Mr Ochoi and instructed Cabinet ministers Anyang Nyong’o and James Orengo to pitch tent in the constituency to retain the seat the party won in 2007.

Mr Musyoka and Higher Education minister William Ruto also crisscrossed the tiny villages of South Mugirango campaigning for Mr Magara.

And as they went for each other’s throats, Mr Nyamweya quietly reached out to all corners of the constituency, promising development.

That was why the MP-elect was upbeat in victory.

“South Mugirango had become a field to settle political scores and the perception was that the other candidates were sponsored by their parties for various motives,” he said.

This, Mr Nyamweya said, left the constituents feeling estranged and he stepped in to fill the gap.

Mr Orengo, though insisting that ODM was still popular in the constituency, said the outcome had a clear message — the by-election was not about national politics but local interests.

“For us, this is a learning process. Local politics was at play. However, ODM is still popular here as is its leader,” he said.

Education minister Sam Ongeri, the main man in Mr Omingo’s campaign team, said the by-election was not about South Mugirango but about the Gusii community.

Mr Magara’s development record proved to be his downfall, with residents saying that the constituency is the only one without an inch of tarmac road.

Handpicked

Questions were also raised about the ODM nomination process. Some of the losers claimed that Mr Ochoi was handpicked, and hence switched their allegiance to Mr Nyamweya.

Although Ford-People is affiliated to PNU, the party leadership had thrown its weight behind PDPs Omingo Magara, ignoring other partners such as Nark Kenya and Kanu.

The business man, who successfully filed a petition against Magara, mounted a low key campaign backed mainly by former Ford People MPs and friends.

The PNU coalition ditched Mr Nyamweya for the former MP Omingo Magara, who defected to the Progressive Democratic Party from the ODM.