Failed Senate bid turned into blessing for Ethuro

By Stephen Makabila

KENYA: David Ekwe Ethuro, the new Senate Speaker, is a man of adequate political experience, good academic credentials, superior grasp of issues and courageous.

Coming from Turkana County, one of the least developed regions, Ethuro’s political achievements are no mean feat. He remains one of the most polished sons of the county, in and out of political circles.

An orphan raised by his uncle, Ethuro’s courage to compete on equal footing with the rest of society could soon touch the entire country as he embarks on business in the prestigious Senate, that is a blend of the experienced, the youthful and the fiery from the political divide.

His greatest wish as the country went to the polls on March 4 was to become his home county Senator.

But as fate had it, he lost the race, only in a new twist of events to be elected the ‘prefect of the senators’ in the House. Ethuro joined elective politics in 2002, riding on the Narc wave to unseat then veteran Turkana politician Immanuael Imana.

Full of energy, he became an active member of the Ninth Parliament, championing the interests of pastoralists in Northern Kenya. In 2007, Ethuro easily retained his seat under the Party of National Unity umbrella, only to be by-passed in Cabinet appointments, with the position going to John Munyes.

Sideline

Ethuro was not amused by his being sidelined from Cabinet and later introduced the Offices of Minister Bill 2009 that sought to make advanced education a condition for appointment to Cabinet. The Bill sought to lock MPs who lacked degrees out of Cabinet.

And even if he lost out on Cabinet posts, Ethuro sat in the Speaker’s Panel in the Tenth Parliament, acting as temporary Speaker, something that must have given him experience to handle proceedings in the 67-member Senate.

During the Tenth House, Ethuro also served in several parliamentary teams such as the CDF Act committee and the Energy, Communication and Information committee. As the Tenth Parliament neared its end, Ethuro drifted away from PNU and crafted a close working relationship with the United Republican Party (URP), whose leader is Deputy President-elect William Ruto.

Politically, last year was not rosy for Ethuro, whose radical politics saw him clash with the Government, especially on security matters. Late November last year, Ethuro and former Turkana South MP Josephat Nanok (now Turkana Governor) were charged with incitement but released on a Sh50,000 cash bail and Sh100,000 bond each.

Ethuro had been sought by police over incitement charges following utterances on the killing of over 40 police officers in Suguta valley, Samburu County. The officers had been deployed to the area prone to cattle rustling to track and recover stolen animals.

Prior to being taken to court, Ethuro, had driven himself to the CID headquarters in Nairobi and recorded a statement on the incitement claims. The court later dismissed the charges.