Majority of Kibra voters ‘undecided’

Nearly half of Kibra voters are yet to decide on the candidate they will elect to succeed the late Ken Okoth, a survey commissioned by ODM has shown.

At least 47 per cent of the voters remain undecided, according to the opinion poll ahead of the September 7 primaries.

The poll, however, suggests Ben Okoth (Imran) of ODM as the most preferred candidate at 27 per cent approval.

Amani National Congress (ANC) candidate Eliud Owalo emerged second in the poll having the backing of 4 per cent of the 118,000 voters in the informal settlement while football star McDonald Mariga of Jubilee Party also enjoys the backing of 4 per cent of the voters.

The poll was conducted between August 29 and 30 before both Jubilee and ODM picked their candidates.

Jubilee settled on Mariga on September 2 while ODM settled on Ken Okoth’s brother on September 7. Others listed in the poll are Christone Awino at 4 per cent, Benson Musungu (2 per cent), John Miller (2 per cent), Peter Orero (1 per cent) and Lumumba Owade (1 per cent).

The aspirants who battled for the Orange ticket have since declared their support for Imran.

The survey covered five wards of Kibra constituency — Laini Saba, Lindi, Makina, Woodley/Kenyatta golf course and Sarangombe — and sampled 500 respondents.

Interviewees listed sewage and sanitation, access to clean water, infrastructure, unemployment and insecurity in the informal settlement as some of the key issues they want their next leader to address.

At the same time, ODM remains the most popular political party in the constituency, enjoying 63 per cent approval.

President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Jubilee and Musalia Mudavadi’s ANC enjoy backing of 8 per cent of the registered voters.