Kajiado candidates turn focus on youth

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By BILLY MUIRURI bmuiruri@ke.nationmedia.com And PONCIANO ODONGO ponwciano@yahoo.co.uk
Posted  Saturday, September 1  2012 at  20:57

IN SUMMARY

• Candidates whose manifestos are tailored for youths and who are touting their own age as a selling point are Kanu’s Paul Gichinga,36, KNC’s Peter Munene,30, TNA’s Moses Ole Sakuda and UDF’s Salaon Kashorda who are in their 40s.
• Mr Sakuda’s youthful image was also boosted by URP’S candidate David Parseina, 29, who dropped his bid in his favour.
• Mr Gichinga, a former pilot with Kenya Airways and Mr Munene’s fight for the youth votes has opened another battle ground as they target the Kikuyu youth.

Candidates in Kajiado North seem to have changed campaign strategies after the dust settled on nominations and are now focusing on the youth votes.

Different candidates are angling for this vote with the attention previously shown to women taking a back seat.

The argument is that among the Maasai, women have little say on who to vote for and usually wait for clan declarations while the immigrant communities mainly consist of male youths either as new settlers, small scale business people or employees.

The youth are also the majority. Ruth Enkeseni of the Conservative Party is the only woman in the race. (READ: Candidates court Kajiado North cosmopolitan voters)

Candidates whose manifestos are tailored for youths and who are touting their own age as a selling point are Kanu’s Paul Gichinga,36, KNC’s Peter Munene,30, TNA’s Moses Ole Sakuda and UDF’s Salaon Kashorda who are in their 40s.

Mr Sakuda’s youthful image was also boosted by URP’S candidate David Parseina, 29, who dropped his bid in his favour.

Mr Gichinga, a former pilot with Kenya Airways and Mr Munene’s fight for the youth votes has opened another battle ground as they target the Kikuyu youth.

The Kikuyu votes consist 42 per cent of the voters while Maasai and Kamba post a 32 and 14 per cent presence. The Kikuyu vote is up for grabs across the parties.

Mr Sakuda has charmed Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta’s inner circle with a youthful lobby associated with his Presidential candidature, Vijana Tuko Pamoja, rooting for him.

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The lobby’s chairman Geoffrey Muya said: “We are carrying a poll on where we shall strike in the next one week. We want the Kajiado youth to be the determining factor in the by-election.”

ODM’s Peter Mositet, who is regarded as the “Maasai community candidate” is seemingly favoured by youths from Western and Nyanza provinces who are said to root for the ODM party.

Mr Mositet’s eye on youth is further boosted by the support of former Mungiki chairman Maina Njenga and Mr Ndura Waruinge the sect’s former national co-ordinator who is now a pastor.

They have separately thrown their weight behind Mr Mositet. Mr Njenga has a strong support base in Kitengela.

Wiper Democratic Movement candidate Solomon Kinyanjui also has his youthful brigade pitching tent in Ngong and hopes to win over the Kamba workers in Magadi area where he campaigned on Saturday. Kangundo MP Johnstone Muthama is campaigning for Mr Kinyanjui.