Jubilee, Nasa muscle at test in Kitutu Chache

Political parties allied to Jubilee and Nasa are set to renew their supremacy battle on Tuesday when voters in Kitutu Chache South constituency go to the polls to pick their MP.

The elections initially set for August 8 were called off following the death of then Jubilee candidate Mr Leonard Mwamba in a road accident barely two weeks to the polls.

The Independent Elections and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has since gazetted November 7 as the date for the postponed election.

Also going to the polls on the same day are voters in Masalani ward in Garissa County and Bogichora ward in Nyamira.

ONYONKA

Four Nasa candidates among them former MP Richard Onyonka (Ford Kenya)  Andrew Maubi (Wiper), Samwel Omwando (ODM) and Justus Mochoge (ANC) will square it out with Antony Kibagendi (Jubilee), Jimmy Onkangi (PDP) and Morara Nyarang’o (Kanu).

Mr Kibagendi was initially in ODM but bolted out after he failed to secure the ticket during the party’s primaries. He briefly toyed with the idea of running as an independent candidate before joining Jubilee to campaign for President Uhuru Kenyatta’s re-election.

He was later handed the party’s ticket following the death of the late Mwamba.

“I am confident of winning. I have done enough groundwork,” he told the Sunday Nation.

Mr Onyonka goes to the race as the candidate to beat having held the seat since the 2007 General Election.

He will however be defending his seat on a Ford Kenya ticket after ditching ODM.

STRONG CANDIDATE

The choice of party will be a big factor and though Mr Onyonka remains a strong candidate, his opponents have taken advantage of his hopping from party to party.

Kitutu Chache South is largely a Nasa stronghold but there is a real danger of the four candidates from the coalition’s affiliates splitting their vote to Jubilee advantage.

Among the Nasa candidates is a new entrant, Mr Maubi who is running on a Wiper ticket. The former Kenyatta University don says Kitutu Chache South needs new leadership which can only be offered by a young person like him.

“It is not written in ink that the Onyonka family must lead our people. It is time for us to have change,” says Mr Maubi.

Mr Onyonka took after his late father Dr Zachary Onyonka who ruled the constituency from 1969 upto his death in 1996.

His opponents have been capitalising on the succession politics saying that the seat is not a dynasty preserved for a few selected families.

PUBLIC FUNDS

“They need to pave way for fresh leadership. Our constituency is not an empire,” says Mr Maubi.

The 33 year old finance and accounting professional says his experience as a Certified Public Accountant will come in handy in managing the constituency kitty.

“I will use my wealth of experience in financial management to ensure proper utilisation of public funds,” he says.

But in a scheme aimed at gaining sympathy from the electorate, Mr Onyonka is pleading to the masses to grant him one more term before he seeks a higher leadership position in 2022.

“This is the last time I will run as an MP if granted the honour of a third term. I will go for a higher seat in 2022,” he says.

The seven candidates will be scrambling for the over 59,000 registered voters in the region.  The constituency has Luo voters numbering close to 8,000 and whoever gets Nasa leader Raila Odinga’s nod stands a great chance of bagging these valuable votes.

ODM

Mr Omwando will be riding on his close links with Mr Odinga which saw him bag the ODM ticket to clinch the seat.

The former Kisii county ODM chairman easily clinched the ODM ticket after Mr Onyonka announced that he had joined Jubilee before making a U-turn to Ford Kenya.

Mr Onyonka however says the people of Kitutu Chache South will re-elect him on the basis of his development record.

“My development record speaks for itself. I have brought tremendous projects through the Constituency Development Fund,” he says.

He says if voters are keen on good leadership, then he is the man to vote for.

Mr Justus Mochoge is an engineer by profession.

“My leadership will be based on transparency and accountability in the distribution of public resources,” he says.

Mr Mochoge is seeking the seat for the second time now having tried unsuccessfully in 2013.