Ethnicity factor to play key role in vote outcome

By Ken-Arthur Wekesa

Of all the three constituencies – Kangema, Ndhiwa, and Kajiado North – whose constituents will go to the polls on September 17, Kajiado North will particularly be the battleground where parties will burn themselves out in a show of might.

ODM will be burning the midnight oil to clinch the seat, as the party believes it won it in 2007.

PNU will equally be striving to dispel the notion held by the Orange party and make a political statement that it won the last election fair and square. The National Alliance, a relatively new outfit, would equally be engaging in the popularity contest ahead of the March 4 elections.

The quest for this cosmopolitan constituency will largely be influenced not only by political parties, but also ethnic factors involving two dominant tribes thereon – the Maasai and Kikuyu communities.

ODM bequeathed on a silver spoon the party ticket to Peter Mositet through a direct nomination and believes the candidate, an engineer, has a strong backing at the grassroots.

Direct tickets

PNU also granted Antony Keen direct nomination. Moses ole Sakuda, who vied for Kajiado North seat on ODM in 2007 and gave the late George Saitoti a run for his money, will be contesting on TNA ticket if he is cleared.

Already, the court has issued an order barring TNA from forwarding his name to the Independent Electoral and Boundary Commission (IEBC) following a petition that the primaries were flawed.

Pundits say ethnic arithmetic is likely to determine the outcome of the polls. It is the reason behind PNU’s move to give a direct nomination to Mr Keen. The current party chairman is Kilgoris MP Gideon Konchella, a Maasai. The move locked out Solomon Kinyanjui who had expressed interest to vie on PNU.

The decision, some say, was informed by the resolve by the Maa leaders not to play second fiddle in constituency. “We have to resist the continued infiltration of immigrants in Kajiado and Narok,” a source, who requested anonymity, told The Standard On Sunday.

However, Joseph Magutt, a political analyst, says PNU’s reason for settling on Keen is purely a strategy aimed at reclaiming the seat. “The name Keen is a political brand that resonates with the pulse rate of most of the Kajiado North constituents as the nominee is the son of a veteran politician John Keen,” he says.