DP Ruto faces acid test in delivering Turbo seat

Deputy President William Ruto faces a daunting task in ensuring Jubilee Party clinches the Turbo parliamentary seat.

Turbo is Ruto's home constituency.

Jubilee Party's Kevin Okwara will face off with David Songok (ODM) and independent candidates Janet Sitienei and Tony Kiprotich. Sitienei emerged second in the Jubilee Party primaries and opted to vie as an independent.

A record 16 aspirants contested for the Jubilee Party ticket, a majority of whom were from the local Kalenjin community, giving Okwara an advantage to edge them out in the primaries.

The losers then contested the nomination outcome and coalesced together to front one candidate as an independent, presumably to deny Okwara the seat since he is considered an 'outsider'. Okwara is a Luhya while the other contenders are Kalenjins.

After the nominations, the aspirants allegedly conspired to deny Okwara the certificate and whipped their supporters to stage protests.

It was reported that Ruto personally intervened to have Okwara declared the winner and issued with party certificate after two days delay.

Okwara was then escorted under tight police security to and from Uasin Gishu Primary School, the constituency tallying centre, to be declared the winner amid protests.

He garnered 5,509 while Sitienei emerged second with 4,816 votes. The incumbent MP Elisha Busienei garnered 4,579 votes.

Analysts now say Ruto will have to work extra hard to ensure Jubilee Party gets the seat, with area residents claiming one of their own must win.

Ruto is keen to ensure the region adopts six-piece voting to ensure Jubilee Party has the majority representatives in all the elective seats.

"Ruto is nursing State House ambitions upon the expiry of President Uhuru Kenyatta's term in 2022 if he wins the August polls. To be seen as non-tribal, he must back the Jubilee nominee who happens not be from his community," said Anderson Kemboi, a local political observer.

He added: "Though he might receive the backlash from the community, he has to contend with it because he cannot fathom the fact that an opposition party or an independent candidate can represent him in Parliament yet he has been an ardent crusader of Jubilee Party."

Kemboi said the DP should tread carefully lest he be branded tribal for siding with his community in opposing the Jubilee nominee.

Okwara, 48, said all communities living in the cosmopolitan region voted for him and should not be viewed as an outsider because he is a resident of Uasin Gishu.

"My opponents see me as an outsider because I am Luhya but democracy prevailed when different communities voted for me. I will champion for the unity and cohesion of this cosmopolitan constituency to ensure we realise faster development," said Okwara at a recent interview.

He said his main agenda includes youth empowerment and education and as well as industrial revolution through agriculture.

But Songok, who has launched spirited campaigns, said "there is nothing like a Jubilee stronghold in Rift Valley because the ground has shifted following the failure of the government to handle the high cost of living and curb the runaway corruption."

He said in 2013, Ruto's then URP political outfit received overwhelming support but the scenario will not be repeated in the coming elections because the contest will not be of parties but individuals.

"Individuals' track record and not party euphoria will characterise the coming General Election and there is nothing like six-piece voting this time around," said Songok, maintaining that he will win the Turbo seat.

Songok lost to Busienei in 2013 election.

But Sitienei said said she is determined to break the jinx and become the first Woman MP for Turbo "to reverse the neglect that previous leaders have directed towards women and youth."

"Transparent leadership and women empowerment is my driving force. When women and youth are empowered, the community becomes stable. The education sector also needs a lot of support to ensure high transition rates," she said.