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Kitutu Masaba election campaigns kick off

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Published on Wednesday, 09 November 2011 07:27

THE 2012 political supremacy shifts to Kitutu Masaba in Nyamira county following the yesterday's start of the official campaigning period for the November 28 by-election. PNU alliance/G7, ODM and Narc Kenya will be seeking to prove their popularity as the three have fielded, or are supporting rival candidates.

ODM candidate is Nairobi businessman Timothy Bosire while PNU/G7 supports immediate former MP Walter Nyambati (NLP). Martha Karua's Narc K has sponsored Nairobi lawyer Mose Nyambega. Prime Minister Raila Odinga is expected to lead the ODM brigade in campaigning for Bosire, as Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka, Finance minister Uhuru Kenyatta and Eldoret North MP William Ruto spearhead the PNU alliance/G7 team. Karua will lead the campaigns for Nyambega.

During a recent tour of the constituency, Raila said the by-election will be a dress rehearsal for the 2012 elections and victory for his party will be an indicator of good things to come. Saboti MP Eugene Wamalwa for PNU/G7 said the alliance will rally behind Nyambati and teach ODM a lesson.

Other serious contenders are former MP Mwancha Okioma (Ford People) and Shadrack Mose (KNC). Several presidential candidates have identified candidates they will support in a bid to test their popularity. IIEC’s returning officer Fredrick Owino cleared 15 candidates to battle it out. At the same time, Speaking at the IIEC offices at Manga district headquarters where they signed the electoral code of conduct and agreed to abide by the law, the candidates pledged to carry out a peaceful campaign and election. 

Nyambati asked his colleagues to respect each other and stop mudslinging as was the case in the last election. Bosire said the constituency does not have a history of political violence. “We have never experienced political thuggery from voters or candidates since independence and we don’t expect it now,” he said.

He asked the IIEC to reign in on cases of vote buying and bribery. “The IIEC failed to address the same in Kamukunji but we want you to reign in on those perpetrating the vices,” said Bosire. He claimed that an IIEC official has been openly campaigning for one of the candidates, saying this will compromise the outcome of the poll.

Gospel artist Alex Apoko 'Ringtone', who is also an aspirant, said his convoy has been attacked twice in the constituency by supporters of one of the candidates. He said this was meant to scare him. Responding to the concerns by the candidates, IIEC’s director for risk and surveillance Abdulahi Rahman admitted that voter buying was a challenge all over the world.

“We should all unite and stop it. It is a challenge which is very difficult to stop,” he added. He however called on the media and candidates to report cases of vote buying. Rahman who was accompanied by the commission’s acting director for election operations Godfrey Lemiso and regional coordinator Sarah Ogaro asked candidates to give their campaign schedules to prevent their supporters from clashing.