By Geoffrey Mosoku

NAIROBI; KENYA: The National Alliance (TNA) has picked former treasury head of budget Robin Achoki to be Ferdinand Waititu’s running mate for Nairobi governorship.

TNA top officials on Thursday met at a Nairobi hotel to endorse the joint ticket following consultations by Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta with powerful politicians from the Kisii community.

TNA chairman Johnson Sakaja, secretary general Onyango Oloo, former nominated MP Amina Abdalla and former MPs Justin Muturi, David Murathe were among those who attended the meeting.

“The DPM was in Kisii recently where elders and some community leaders said that they wanted to propose a name which he accepted, now they have given us Achoki,” Murathe said.

He now replaces URP’s Millicent Omanga who was being considered following negotiations between TNA and URP in the jubilee coalition.  Earlier Waititu had shown preference for city lawyer Evans Ondieki but his decision was rescinded by the TNA top brass.

Former Cherangany MP Joshua Kutuny said that the URP had no problem with the decision since the community had requested to nominate a running mate.

“We were in Kisii and wazee asked us to allow them to nominate the candidate for running mate in Nairobi, that their wish which has been granted,” Kutuny said.

Jubile leaders are making the nomination as part of their strategy to tap into the Kisii community vote especially in Nairobi which is estimated to be about 200,000.

The move comes as rival Cord has kept the name of Dr Evans Kidero’s running mate a secret even after submitting nominees list to IEBC on Monday.

Sources in Cord indicate that plans to nominate former town clerk Philip Kisia were dropped as this could exclude Wiper in Nairobi and consequently, Cord wills tick with Jonathan Mueke who was proposed by Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka.

This latest development will turn the contest for Nairobi to be the fiercest after the Cord alliance picked immediate former Starehe MP Magret Wanjiru-to vie for Nairobi senate.

In last minute deal brokered by Prime Minister Raila Odinga, Wanjiru accepted to run for senate with her counterpart Elizabeth Ongoro being asked to run for another seat.

Ongoro is still contesting the decision. The move now means Bishop Wanjiru will battle it out flamboyant ex Makadara legislator Gideon Mbuvi Sonko of The National Alliance (TNA).

Both politicians are credited with abilities to mobilise grassroots support especially among the slum dwellers and are known to employ the use of resources to campaign vigorously.

In choosing Wanjiru, ODM is said to have considered the ethnic voting trends in Nairobi which means that Kikuyu voters may vote overwhelmingly for her although she is in ODM.

Analysts say that other communities that form a large chunk of voters in Nairobi such as the Kamba, Kisii, Luo and Luhyia may tilt the balance towards the Cord candidate candidates.

In 2010, Wanjiru recaptured her Starehe seat in a by-election after Raila who had appeared reluctant to support her quest came out to campaign for her. The race was touted to favour her rival Maina Kamanda but the situation changed at the eleventh hour after Raila’s involvement.

However, Wanjiru cannot sit pretty and relax with the hope of securing the Cord strongholds’ votes as Sonko’s support also appears to traverse across all the communities.  His support mainly comes from the youth and women who identify with him due to ‘his generous’ ways of helping the poor.

“I don’t fear any candidate and in fact I welcome the candidature of Wanjiru so that the competition can be tough to give me the right legitimacy when I trounce her,” Sonko said when asked if he thought the Housing assistant minister’s nomination threatened his chances.

The former Starehe MP had earlier expressed interest in the governorship but was knocked out by ODM due to credibility questions on her degree qualification.  She had also reasons to smile after her son Steve Kariuki got the ODM nomination for newly created Mathare constituency.

Both Cord and Jubilee have vowed to stage a vigorous campaign to win the high-stakes-Nairobi seats in March 4.