From the racetrack to parliament

Vincent BartooElijah Lagat is the Member of Parliament for Emgwen constituency in Nandi, coincidentally home to many of the country’s celebrated international athletes.They include Kenya’s latest track sensation, Pamela Jelimo and her senior counterparts Janet Jepkosgey and Wilfred Bungei."Apart from Jelimo’s gold at last year’s Beijing Olympics, six of my constituents also bagged gold at the Paralympics games," says Lagat, who got his first taste of competitive Kenyan politics when he lost his bid for the Emgwen seat in the 2002 General Election.Lagat, 42, was tipped to win the seat, owing to his popularity as a successful international athlete with a philanthropic heart.Lagat and his wife Rispah surrounded by their children. From left: Abigael Jeptoo, Enock Kimutai, Nathan Kibet and Obadiah Kipngetich. [PHOTO: peter ochieng’/STANDARD]But the tables were turned on him when a political newcomer, Stephen Tarus, won the seat.Lagat had endeared himself to locals when he decided to donate 10 per cent of his earnings from his athletics career to development initiatives in Emgwen."Back then, I had no intention whatsoever of joining politics. I gave the money as my appreciation to God for making me successful on the track," he said in an interview with Sunday Magazine.When he scaled the heights and became a successful international athlete, Lagat assumed it was the one and only career God had destined for him.But Emgwen constituents thought different and saw in him a leader who had their interests at heart. They sent a delegation to his home urging him to vie for the seat.With his track winnings, Lagat would donate generously to fund raising initiatives, he paid school fees for needy students and started Kapsabet Athletics Training Camp to assist budding athletes develop their talents.It was no surprise, therefore, that constituents thought he was best suited to be their MP."I was hesitant. I remember sending my close relatives and friends to locations in the constituency to establish whether it was true people wanted me as their MP," he says.The team returned an affirmative verdict from the people before Lagat reluctantly agreed to go for it."I was reluctant because I did not want to be rewarded for my philanthropy. The Bible says when you help someone, do not expect any reward at all," he adds.However, Lagat did not want to disappoint constituents who even offered their time and energies to campaign for him.Elijah Lagat challenges a close rival before winning the 10 kilometre Copenhagen race in Denmark in 1994.His star rose and shone when he officially announced his bid and hit the campaign trail on a Kanu ticket.But his choice of party would later cost him dearly when the Narc wave, slowly gaining momentum, eventually swept Rift Valley Province, previously considered a Kanu domain."The wave was very strong and, when we realised this, it was too late to turn back. The time for change in the country had come and Emgwen residents did not want to be left behind," he says.When the results were out, Lagat conceded defeat to Tarus, who was the Narc candidate, and pledged his support.Constituents’ dissatisfaction"I remember telling him that if he performed well, I would not bother contesting the seat in 2007. I would still support him," he says.Lagat, who was still an active athlete, suspended his political activities and continued with his athletic career."I flew abroad and participated in championships and even went on to win races in Italy. It was a good way of relieving the stress after losing," he chuckles.But midway through Tarus’ five-year term, constituents started expressing dissatisfaction with his leadership and sent a delegation to Lagat again."They told me to be ready to vie again in 2007 and that this time they wanted me to seek nomination from a party that was popular with the people," he recalls.Like the Narc wave did in 2002, the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) wave started sweeping Rift Valley in the run-up to the 2007 General Election and Emgwen was also caught up."We joined ODM and fought for nomination. It was not easy though, as I was up against heavyweights," he says.Lagat competed against former power broker Mark Too and Industrialisation minister Henry Kosgey’s son, Alex Kosgey, among others.He, however, emerged victorious as, buoyed by the popular ODM ticket, he easily trounced his main opponent Tarus, who was contesting the seat on the less popular Party of National Unity (PNU) ticket.Lagat’s political career then took off, this time suspending his athletic career and possibly ending it, to concentrate on serving his constituents.He embarked on establishing locational development committees charged with the responsibility of deciding the development agenda of their areas."I would like the people to decide what they want. This way, we can address the most pressing issues," says the MP.One such issue has been the low education standards in the constituency, blamed on lack of facilities.This is Lagat’s current project, to improve educational facilities, an initiative he expects to take three years."I also want to equip them so that by the end of the three years, we will be through with education development and move on to another major project," he says.Another hurdle in Emgwen is improving the living standards of the constituents, whose main source of income is agriculture."I am lobbying the Government to improve the road infrastructure. The Kapsabet-Eldoret road used by milk farmers to deliver their produce to the market is in a bad shape," he says.Poor producer pricesPoor producer prices for agricultural produce, Lagat laments, have drastically reduced the income of his constituents.Lagat is also busy coming up with initiatives aimed at empowering constituents to diversify from just agriculture to other business ventures.Being the MP of a fairly multi-cultural constituency, Lagat has also been leading efforts to reconcile communities after the post-election violence that affected the area.The MP is a history graduate of Baraton University and is currently pursuing an MBA in Strategic Management at the Nazarene University.

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