Key races in Mt Kenya region are being defined by fallouts in the Jubilee Party nominations and alternative parties that resisted the dissolution push by the ruling coalition.
Competition is also stepped up by the fact that most of the political bigwigs who were defeated in JP primaries have opted to run as independent candidates, setting up a final showdown with Jubilee rivals.
Some of the political fights where daggers have already been drawn are the Kirinyaga and Kiambu governorship races.
Having clinched the Jubilee ticket, former Devolution Cabinet Secretary Anne Waiguru is seeking to trounce Narc Kenya leader Martha Karua.
Waiguru’s advantage
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She goes into the race with the advantage of the mainstream Jubilee Party and will present Karua with the toughest political fight she has faced in her two-decade career.
In Kiambu, fortunes are changing for Kabete MP Ferdinand Waititu. What looked like an assured victory for Waititu when his main challenger, William Kabogo, bowed out of the race after the nomination is now in doubt after the latter announced his return to the race.
Kabogo has the benefit of incumbency and massive financial resources to boot. He has been instrumental in the formation of the Kenya Association of Independent Candidates, which is gaining traction.
Stakes are also high in Nyeri, where Dr Wahome Gakuru will hope to be lucky at his second try after losing the contest to Nderitu Gachagua in 2013. Like the last election, where he won the ticket for the mainstream The National Alliance (TNA) party, Gakuru is the Jubilee nominee. He is hoping for a better show on August 8.
However, he will face a tough time overcoming his former running mate, Patrick Munene Kairu, who is vying on a Democratic Party ticket, and incumbent Samuel Wamathai, who is an independent candidate.
Arguably, the most hotly contested seat in Nyeri County is the Senate seat, which will see two moneyed road contractors - Ephraim Maina (Jubilee Party) and Dan Wamahiu (independent) - square it out.
In the run-up to the nominations, almost all the available billboard space in the county had been taken up by the two contestants.
The biggest contest is likely to be witnessed in the Meru governorship race where Senator Kiraitu Murungi will face off with incumbent Peter Munya on the reincarnated Party of National Unity (PNU) ticket.
Political storms
Embu Governor Martin Wambora has weathered several political storms in his tenure as governor but none will prove a bigger threat to his governorship than the one posed by Senator Lenny Kivuti, who is seeking to unseat him on a Maendeleo Chap Chap ticket.
Laikipia, though in Rift Valley, is considered part of Mt Kenya regional politics, with Governor Joshua Irungu (Jubilee) facing stiff competition from former assistant minister Ndiritu Muriithi, who is running as an independent.
Mt Kenya East presents an interesting scenario. Tharaka Nithi Governor Samuel Ragwa (Narc-Kenya) decamped from Jubilee Party, at the outset wary that the nominations would not be free and fair. Ragwa will now face outgoing Chuka/Igambango’mbe legislator Muthomi Njuki.
In the county Senate seat, Senate Majority Leader Kithure Kindiki will face Maendeleo Chap Chap’s Francis Matanka.
In the Nyeri woman representative race, Rahab Mukami outsmarted incumbent Priscilla Nyokabi to clinch the JP ticket but the latter has since opted to vie as an independent candidate. Mukami is hoping she can exact sweet revenge on Nyokabi, whom she lost to in 2013.
The Mathira parliamentary seat will see former Governor Nderitu Gachagua’s younger brother Rigathi attempt to win the seat his brother held in 2002. He is facing opposition from septuagenarian Wambura wa Maranga, who opted to vie as an independent after losing out in the nominations.
Senate Deputy Majority Leader Kembi Gitura will hope that his experience will be enough to ensure he outwits Kiharu MP Irungu Kang’ata, who will fly the JP flag to represent Murang’a in the Senate after beating Gitura.
The Murang’a woman representative race will be a battle between former radio personalities Sabina Chege and Waithera Muithirania.
Kiambu Senator Kimani Wamatangi will face former radio presenter Karungo wa Thangwa, who will vie as an independent after losing the party ticket.
Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria will face Joyce Ngugi, the widow of former MP Joseph Ngugi.
