Every indication is that that Nairobi governor’s seat will be fiercely fought for

A curious announcement by non-Nairobi MPs addressing Nairobians over the heads of their political leaders last Sunday has exposed the tensions in the governing Jubilee Alliance as it prepares to transition into a single entity called Jubilee Party.

Legislators Ferdinand Waititu (Kabete), Jude Njomo (Kiambu Town), Kanini Kega (Kieni) and Mpuru Aburi (Tigania East), out of the blue, crowned Water and Irrigation Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa Jubilee’s choice for next year’s Nairobi governor’s seat.

In so doing, the foursome also pretended to speak for the Central and Mount Kenya peoples, the bedrock of Jubilee’s support, and whose representation in the National Assembly stands at 49 elected MPs, some of whom are their political seniors.

Second, the quartet cheekily sought to foist Mr Wamalwa and their views on his political prowess, on their Nairobi counterparts. They praised the CS’s demonstrated bravery and loyalty in allowing the dissolution of his New Ford Kenya Party last month to join brand new Jubilee.

Third, they reckoned without the call last February by the Kikuyu Council of Elders, MPs, media and thought leaders, to the Kikuyu of Kiambu, Murang’a and Nyeri to register as voters in large numbers in Nairobi. Why? To ensure that the Kikuyu capture 10 of the capital’s 17 parliamentary seats and, most importantly, the governorship, next year. Mr Wamalwa is Luhya.

Predictably, reaction to the endorsement was swift and scorching, spawned new theories, and threatened established alignments. First, the Kikuyu Council of Elders made it clear in a news release that the quartet did not speak for Kikuyus implicitly accusing the MPs of encroaching on its work and serving an external agenda inimical to the expressly stated electoral plan for Nairobi.

Next came Nairobi’s Jubilee MPs, led by Starehe’s Maina Kamanda. They directed their ire and fire not at Waititu & Co, but Deputy President William Ruto. They regard the DP as flaunting and deploying his political muscle to hoist Mr Wamalwa to the front of the Jubilee queue for gubernatorial nomination.

HOSTILE DELEGATION

Mr Kamanda led a hostile delegation to Mr Ruto’s Nairobi office to make an important, if unspoken, strategic point: you will need the Kikuyu vote for your presidential bid in 2022, do not frustrate the their poll plans for Nairobi.

Also left unsaid was the fact that a significant number of Nairobi’s Jubilee MPs root for their Dagoretti South counterpart Dennis Waweru for the governor’s job. And these MPs resent the fact that Ms Millicent Omanga, who is preparing to lock horns with Jubilee’s Rachel Shebesh for the ticket of Nairobi Women’s Rep, is said to have the DP’s blessings.

At the individual level, the announcement was a rude awakening for Nominated MP Johnson Sakaja. For three months he has operated as if he were the Jubilee high command’s favourite for the gubernatorial nomination. The same goes for Nairobi Senator Gideon Mbuvi alias Sonko, who boasts close ties to President Uhuru Kenyatta and thought this stood him in good stead for the gubernatorial nomination. He is considering an independent run should Mr Wamalwa grab the ticket.

At the rival Coalition for Reforms and Democracy, which is dominated by the Luo, Abaluhya and Kamba, the endorsement was seen as part of the continuing deliberate and determined campaign to weaken the opposition. It comprises prising Abaluhya away from the coalition, fragmenting their vote and driving a wedge between Abaluhya and their Luo neighbours. Unsurprisingly, this onslaught is spearheaded by Mr Ruto.

The endorsement, however, generated serious debate among Abaluhya thought leaders. Enthusiastic and unconditional support for the CS was matched by derisive dismissal of the thought that the Kikuyu would support him to run for a seat they regard as theirs by virtue of owning most of the businesses, services and real estate that make Nairobi East Africa’s biggest metropolis and financial hub.

Abaluhya also had to contend with a popular view among the Luo that Mr Wamalwa was introduced into the Nairobi race specifically to cripple Governor Evans Kidero by enticing away his Luhya supporters.

If Mr Wamalwa becomes Jubilee’s gubernatorial nominee, the story went, Mr Waweru would defect to another party and, backed by the large Kikuyu vote, beat a weakened Kidero to City Hall.

It is early days, but the view that Nairobi’s gubernatorial contest will be fiercely fought has been reinforced.

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