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Ongeri likely to face an old foe

If there will be a titanic battle in Kisiiland come the General Election, it will certainly be in Nyaribari Masaba where pro and anti-Nyachae forces clash head-on.

The incumbent is Health minister Sam Ongeri, the acknowledged head of the anti-Nyachae faction in Kisii, and there is every likelihood that with Mr Nyachae virtually assured of his seat, he will be watching events unfold in Nyaribari Masaba with a keen interest.

Over the years, Prof Ongeri has openly identified with the group ranged against Mr Nyachae on the national plane, moves dating way back to 1988 when the latter was shut out of that year's General Election.

That year, Prof Ongeri won the seat in a hotly-disputed contest against Nyachae ally Dr Hezron Manduku, but come 1992, Mr Nyachae was calling the shots in Kisii after being enticed into the ruling pary with the singular mission of shutting opposition forces out of the area.

The result was a virtual clean sweep for Mr Nyachae's allies at the Kanu nominations stage, including Dr Manduku, who enjoyed sweet revenge at fiercely contested Kanu nominations which had to be done twice before Prof Ongeri bowed out.

Matters have gone full circle since then and it is Prof Ongeri who is eager to fend off the expected all-out assault.

It is expected to be a closely-fought, no-holds-barred fight spiced with long-standing personal animosity between Prof Ongeri and Dr Manduku, who has already indicated he will be running on the Ford People ticket.

Since winning the Nyaribari Masaba seat in 1997, the flamboyant, some say haughty, Ongeri has been active, leading fund-raising efforts and is credited with several achievements.

He has, for instance, renovated the Masimba health centre and Gesusu sub-district hospital close to his home as well as Ibacho health centre. The Keroka-Masimba-Gesusu road, which traverses the constituency, is also regularly gravelled, easing transport problems.

A number of his constituents have also gained entry to local medical training centres for which many of them credit Prof Ongeri.

Even his arch-foes in the constituency have no illusions about him being an easy nut to crack. Which explains why if there is one candidate Mr Nyachae will want to give his undivided attention, it will be Prof Ongeri.

And that, from a man whose declaration of intention to vie for president has imbued the Abagusii community with an unprecedented sense of pride and belonging, could easily translate into a great deal of trouble for Prof Ongeri.

Already, proxy wars have begun on the ground, as was evidenced recently by the controversy over the election of directors of Kiamokama Tea factory, pitting the pro-Nyachae group against Ongeri 's lineup. Prof Ongeri and Dr Manduku are, incidentally, not the only ones eyeing the seat.

DP's assistant secretary general George Nyamweya, told the Nation last week that he was all out to claim the seat once held by his father, former Cabinet minister and DP founder-member the late James Nyamweya.

The younger Nyamweya was set to run in 1997, but was prevailed upon by top DP officials to take up the position of deputy campaign manager at the party headquarters.

Others equally eager for a piece of the action are, Kisii transporter/businessman Ratemo Nyara, who ran on a Social Democratic Party ticket in 1997 and polled a credible 5,000-plus votes, Mr Christopher Matoke, lawyer Ken Ong'au Ombati and former Kenya National Union of Teachers' and Tea Board of Kenya chairman Ochwang'i Moronge.

Mention is also being made of the Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology Vice-Chancellor Prof Ratemo Michieka, and who many say would give Prof Ongeri quite a fright were he to join the fray.

This has everything to do with the fact that a large swathe of the electorate comes from Prof Ratemo's dominant Kamba Nane (eight clans), which more or less calls the shots in the wider Nyaribari. The Kamba Nane clan includes Nyachae's own Abanyamasicho clan. Mr Manduku comes from the Botondo clan while Prof Ongeri is from the slightly larger Boguche, both minor clans related to the Kamba Nane.