By PATRICK NZIOKA pnzioka@ke.nationmedia.com and GEORGE MUNENE gamunene@yahoo.comPosted Saturday, January 22 2011 at 21:00
In Summary
- Issues that will dominate campaigns include use of devolved funds and security
The stage is set for a bruising battle of supremacy between Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and Narc Kenya party leader Martha Karua over control of the vote in central Kenya.
This time the battleground is the Kirinyaga Central by-election where seven candidates were cleared last week.
The seat was left vacant following the nullification of the election of the former MP John Ngata. He has bowed out of the race after he failed to present his nomination papers.
Hasia Ireri of ODM was locked out after she filed too late.
Friday was the deadline set for presentation of the electoral documents.
Party of National Unity candidate Joseph Gitari and Narc-K’s Daniel Karaba were among the first to be cleared by the Interim Independent Electoral Commission amid political tension.
Other candidates contesting the seat include Henry Mwaniki for the DP and Duncan Muraguri from the PPK party.
Also in the race are Dr Sammy Kagoiyo of Ford-Kenya, Beth Wambura of KNC and Peter Ngare of SDP.
The stakes are high for Mr Kenyatta and Ms Karua as the election outcome is expected to influence thinking about how the region votes in the 2012 presidential election.
Both Mr Kenyatta and Ms Karua are expected to contest the presidency and want to inherit the region politically from President Kibaki who will be retiring.
For Mr Kenyatta it will be a no-holds-barred battle given that his candidate in the recent Juja by-election, Mr George Thuo, was defeated by Ms Karua’s choice, Mr William Kabogo, in a constituency where the Deputy PM was believed to have the political upper hand.
The loss of PNU’s Dick Wathika to Narc-K’s Gidion Mbuvi alias Mike Sonko in Nairobi’s Makadara constituency, where Mr Kenyatta was visible during the campaigns, led critics to argue that Uhuru was losing control of his voting bloc which was shifting to favour Ms Karua.
It is this confidence that she brings to the by-election in Kirinyaga Central which neighbours her own Gichugu, which she has represented uninterrupted since 1992.
In addition to the supremacy battle between Ms Karua and Mr Kenyatta, the issues that will dominate the campaign include the use of devolved funds.
Voters are unhappy that the former MP, Mr Ngata, allowed his cronies to direct the funding to the area he comes from around the town.
Security will be another issue. The security situation in the area deteriorated due to the presence of the outlawed Mungiki sect members who controlled the area with an iron grip, culminating in the massacre of 26 people in 2009.
Mr Gitari is running for the first time. He is a surveyor and boasts being one of the consultants who helped resolve the controversy surrounding Migingo Island in Lake Victoria.
Mr Karaba, a former school principal, is likely to benefit from sympathy votes as the court verdict meant the election had been rigged in favour of Mr Ngata, who was then running on a Ford Asili ticket.
Make inroad
Dr Kagoiyo of Ford-K comes from Kerugoya Central Ward and is struggling to make inroads as campaigns hot up.
Ms Wambura of KNC comes from Kerugoya North Ward. She worked with the World Food Programme for three years but quit in 2005 to venture into business.
Mr Mwaniki is from Kanyeki-ini Ward and runs his own financial consultancy firm.
Mr Ngari of SDP is from Nduini Ward and works as an auditor in Nairobi. He is a newcomer to politics just like Mr Muraguri of the PPK, who comes from Kaitheri village in Kerugoya.
Mr Muraguri is a contractor who works in the area.
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