Kiyiapi set to launch ‘Operation Okoa Nchi’

Former PS James ole Kiyiapi [Photo: File/Standard]

 

By Leonard Korir

Despite being labelled a lone ranger, political novice and a non-starter, Restore and Build Kenya (RBK) presidential aspirant James ole Kiyiapi is struggling to demystify that the presidency is a preserve of big tribes.

As the nation got carried away by intrigues of new political marriages, Kiyiapi refused to join coalitions even dismissing them as disastrous.

 “These alliances will not take the nation forward but will only sow the seeds of discord, suspicion and hatred. They are merely built on quick sand and their disintegration is imminent. In Kenyan politics, there is no more loyalty to parties but people only join parties for the sake of winning an election,” said Kiyiapi.

During an interview with The Standard, Kiyiapi said his campaign strategy was to woo voters from various counties through the yet to be unveiled Operation Okoa Nchi, a code to urge supporters help rescue the nation from shackles of poverty, mediocrity in leadership and other maladies.

Kiyiapi boasts of a powerful network of teachers and students whom he led during his stint as Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education.

 “Teachers are spread across the country and I have tried to maintain their contacts and their contribution to my campaign team so far is quite immeasurable,” noted Kiyiapi.

For instance in Rift Valley where United Republican Party (URP) is perceived to have an edge over other parties, Kiyiapi challenged Eldoret North MP William Ruto to brace for a tough contest because his strategy team had done a thorough homework and was confident of sharing 50-50 votes with URP.

Having served as lecturer and dean in the Eldoret based Moi University, Kiyiapi is also expected to utilise the contacts from the region where his wife, Lucy, is also a lecturer.

The RBK flag bearer, who together with Narc-Kenya presidential aspirant Martha Karua are the only lone ranger presidential aspirants, says his party will receive defectors who have bolted out of the new alliances due to forced-marriage inconveniencies.

“The party is gradually growing in numbers and several defectors from the newly formed alliances have expressed interest of joining us after realising alliances were just meant to satisfy a few people. RBK will offer them refuge,” Kiyiapi noted.

Asked about how he intends to oil his campaign in an election where heavyweights have planned to inject billions of shillings, Kiyiapi argued that politicians who buy their way into leadership were dangerous and non-servants.

He said dirty money was being used during the campaigns and Kenyans must question the source of such money, as it could be stolen public funds.

 “Those doubting if my campaign is sustainable should tell me if there is one day we have stopped campaigning because of lack of resources. We will mount an affordable and sufficient campaign and not an extravagant one. No amount of billions can stop an idea whose time has come,” Kiyiapi argues.

The RBK leader is also reaching out to churches to spread his political gospel to their congregations.         Dr Joseph ole Nakuro who heads RBK’s Kilgoris office says Kiyiapi’s closeness to church leaders has given him an edge.

 “He has been very supportive of church affairs and this is one strong pillar in his campaign,” said Nakuro.

He also plans to dislodge the proposed zoning of regions by alliances through engaging locals rather than dealing with leaders keen on guarding their interests.

He said zoning of areas according to party strongholds was divisive and a crafty way to lock out some potential leaders in smaller parties.                

The former education PS is also branding himself as the only presidential aspirant from a marginalised community and is wooing other minorities.

Some argue that being from the tiny Maasai community, other small tribes see hope in his presidency with the belief that he understands their agony and would probably offer solutions to long-standing historical injustices especially on land.

 “Millions of Kenyans have been suppressed and denied their share of the national cake just because of their tribal background and they have now realised a president from the minority community was the only panacea,” said Charles Jakaiti, secretary general of RBK.

However, some analysts fault his strategy that just like UDF leader Musalia Mudavadi, Martha Karua, Peter Kenneth and Raphael Tuju, Kiyiapi has equally failed to consolidate his Maa speaking communities into a unified voting block.

According to Paul Lemiso, a political analyst, Kiyiapi is more an academician than a politician and has not established firm networks in his community.

“A serious presidential candidate always ensures his home turf is fully behind him/her before moving out to search for votes in other areas,” said Lemiso.

Besides Rift Valley, his campaign team has focused on Kisii, Nyamira and Migori counties, upper and lower Eastern region, Nyeri and Kirinyaga.

Kiyiapi blames the media for discouraging some presidential aspirants through unbalanced and unfair coverage. He said the media labelled him ‘lone ranger’ but maintained he was not giving up as he has supporters.

 “Let the media tell me if the so called lone rangers can’t pull a surprise front page cover story other than the common faces,” posed Kiyiapi.

His choice of running mate still remains a mystery claiming it is a secret arsenal.  He has identified three candidates for the position.

“I am about to decide who will be my running mate and this will be a Christmas or New Year surprise gift to Kenyans,” said Kiyiapi.

Following the recent ruling by the Supreme Court that the one-third-gender rule be applied progressively, Kiyiapi believes the decision was unfair to women as politics is still tilted in favour of men. He says his government would adopt Rwanda’s style where women in Cabinet were equal or more than men.

 “Women have equal status with their male counterparts and my government will make 50-50 Cabinet positions spread across both genders.”

He says one-third requirement was still a drop in the ocean and women should be compensated in other sectors where their presence is more prominent.