2007 Elections
Besieged Nyachae facing uncertain future in Kisii
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- Published on Monday, 23 July 2007 10:27
And preliminary battle lines reveal an in-depth wave to clip the wings of the region’s political supremo Simeon Nyachae for what is widely seen as his failure to address the people’s interests, personalisation of Kisii politics and in general, failure to provide leadership.
The political battle pits the Orange Democratic Movement Party of Kenya (ODM–K) pillars in the area; former Finance Minister Chris Obure and Ford People rebel James Omingo Magara, the anti–Nyachae (Ford-P) wave is further fuelled by top Kisii technocrats, led by immediate former top civil servants: James Ongwae, Zachary Ogongo, Engineer Barnabas Ariga and former District Commissioner Ezekiel Machogu.
The siege on Nyachae and his one-man steered party is perhaps the first big test ever since his 1988 disastrous attempt to join elective politics when Kisii leaders under the late Dr. Zachary Onyonka, Professor Sam Ongeri and the late Andrew Omanga successfully stood in his way.
Last weekend’s meeting of ODM–K leaders from Kisii in Nairobi served as an eye opener to the building storm against the Roads Minister who boasts of the most illustrious careers in Kenya’s civil service, mainly the provincial administration.
When Nyachae entered Parliament and straight to the Cabinet after the 1992 general elections, many in the area looked up to him as the new fulcrum of Kisii politics.
Civil servants from Kisii had even bigger expectations then that the area’s top most politician and a man of unmatched influence would serve as a father figure and help turn around their fortunes.
But all the expectations soon came to naught as he could not entertain their overtures.
Many claim he quickly degenerated into self-centred politics, pursuing personal business and sociopolitical interests. This, his critics say was only beneficial to his immediate family members and political allies.
Only sheer hard work, self drive and competence made several of his tribesmen rise through the ranks in the civil service.
Such were Zachary Ogongo who rose to become a respectable Provincial Commissioner and later a Permanent Secretary, human resource expert James Ongwae rose to become PS for Directorate for Personnel Management (DPM) and long serving Engineer Ariga who rose to become Chief Engineer of Roads.
The year 2002 could be the year Kisii voters hate to revisit.
By sheer whipping up of the tribal emotions and displaying of his immense wealth, Nyachae managed to rally Kisiis together, in isolation against other Kenyan communities to vote for his Ford People Party.
“From independence, Kisii’s have always been in the Government. In 2002, Nyachae mislead them to vote against the winning team only to abandon them in the cold as he negotiated for himself and his allies. Now the people want to be with the winning team, ODM-K. Nyachae must go” says Paul Ontita a former international soccer star based in Kisii town.
Worse still, when he was appointed to the Government of National Unity (GNU) in June 2004 by President Mwai Kibaki, it is claimed Nyachae engineered the sacking of top Kisii civil servants whom he replaced with his close relatives.
He joined the GNU together with close crony Henry Obwocha as minister for planning. Several of his allies were appointed assistant ministers.
Thrown out were: Ogongo, Ongwae , Eng. Ariga and the then National Social Security Fund (NSSF) Managing Trustee Naftali Mogere. In their place, he hand-picked close relatives Dr. Bitange Ndemo, Ms Alice Mayaka and Hezron Nyangito.
Insiders of Kisii politics underline this as the major turning point in Kisii politics that has seen voters become impatiently eager for vengeance “to also retrench Nyachae from public life.”
“Today eight out of ten Kisiis are in ODM–Kenya. Everybody is standing up to be counted in this patriotic duty of bringing an end to this one man dictatorship in Kisii,” says a high school teacher in Gucha and an ODM supporter.
The larger Kisii, comprising of Nyamira, Gucha and Kisii districts boasts of 10 constituencies.
The political history is a litany of big time political camps and epic feuds that have in the past dictated election results.
The most prominent camps pitted the late Lawrence Sagini against Dr. Onyonka’s.
The two camps appear to have prevailed with Dr. Onyonka’s holding sway. It wasn’t until after his death in 1996 that Nyachae’s political star shot up.
Though viewed today countrywide as the Kisii political supremo, locals point to a different political hegemony in the offing.
The strong ODM-K wave is set to propel the axis of Obure, Magara and Ongwae to the steering wheel.
There are all indications that Nyachae’s team is on its way out. A third force made up of the KANU/Moi headliners is building around former minister Prof. Sam Ongeri, but observers opine that it will be dwarfed by the ODM-K juggernaut.
Apart from frustrating or failing to promote the interests of Kisii’s in top Government jobs, Nyachae has been accused of failing to fulfil his 2002 election pledges like to ensure the construction of a Banana processing factory at Suneka, to champion the revival and interests of the pyrethrum farmers and rural electrification.
And in the latest political talk, the ODM-K group is accusing him of being a political nomad with no principles or agenda.
Thus early during the Narc regime, he hobnobbed with the short lived “Coalition for National Unity” (CNU). After a short while he ditched the group without consulting Kisiis and started strongly backing Liberal Democratic Party’s (LDP) Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka whom he once garlanded at Nyanturago Stadium during a Kisii cultural day fete.
After a short while, he dumped Kalonzo and started publicly hitting out at the LDP leadership, and entered a marriage with Ford Kenya’s Musikari Kombo to navigate ways of reviving the original Forum for Restoration of Democracy (FORD), family.
Note that after 1992, the original FORD split into Ford-Kenya, Ford-Asili and Ford-People.
This move was to later to be abandoned mid way without explanations.
With a failed Ford re-unification experiment, Kisii’s were to wake up with news of Nyachae in President Kibaki’s administration.
In weeks, he was in the Government-backed Banana camp during debate on the proposed constitution last year.
The Banana camp lost heavily to the Orange group at the November 21 referendum. The Orange team then went ahead to form the ODM and later ODM-K party.
“We are worried the man could soon surprise us with another destructive and self serving political manoeuvre. What hurts is the fact that in all these fruitless political experiments he claims to be fronted by the Kisii people. We are tired of being used and we must stop him at the elections” stresses a Nyamira civic leader.
As Nyachae’s decade-old chieftaincy over Kisii politics heads for the guillotine many call it good riddance claiming that a part from close relatives.
They note that even his most notable lieutenants in the political scene like Henry Obwocha and Jimmy Ang’wenyi are self-made leaders whom he pulled closer and politically imprisoned them by offering them big personal loans, thus making it hard for them to rebel nor defy him even when he goes wrong.
Besides, Ang’wenyi is an immediate relative of Nyachae by virtue of his brother being husband to one of Nyachae’s daughters.
It is thus not surprising that his own son Lee Nyachae is fully supporting ODM-K’s Eng. Ariga who is also a relative of Nyachae’s own Kambananne clan.
The junior Nyachae has vowed he will fully assist the former Chief Roads Engineer to oust the senior Nyachae as MP for Nyaribari Chache next year.
In Bobasi, ODM-K is lining up Obure to kick out Ford People’s Stephen Manoti. Ford Kenya has Kepta Ombati, while Narc Kenya will choose between Mogere and Crispus Njoga.
Ogongo on his part is ODM’s front runner to vanquish Ford People’s Mwencha Okioma in Kitutu Masaba. Other ODM-K hopefuls include Walter Nyambati and Timothy Bosire.
Fireworks are expected in Kitutu Chache where Nyachae’s strong ally Jimmy Angwenyi faces a strong ODM field led by Ongwae, Geofrey Asanyo, Richard Onyonka, Nyanza provincial roads boss Eng. Ogeto and Dr. Chris Bitange.
Joseph Kiangoi (ODM–K) and Patrick Osero (Kanu) are eying the North Mugirango seat currently held by colourless Geofrey Masanya.
In South Mugirango, fiery Magara will lead the ODM assault to block Ford People’s Reuben Oyondi. Kanu has Manson Nyamweya while David Kombo is fast retreating to Ford People.
Obwocha is faces a stiff contest in West Mugirango against lawyer Joseph Rioba of ODM-K and former Nyanza and Nairobi Provincial Medical Officer Dr. James Gesami while Kanu could rely on lawyer Joseph Abincha and Dr. Eneo Nyakiba.
Nyachae’s confidant Dr.Hezron Manduku in Nyaribari Masaba is besieged by Kanu’s Prof. Onge’ri, ODM-K’s Ezekiel Machogu and Democratic Party deputy Secretary General George Nyamweya.
