Jubilee Alliance Party candidate Patrick ole Tutui’s advantage as voters decide

Drought, government and the Nkaissery factors are the three variables, which will determine whether Jubilee Alliance Party candidate Patrick ole Tutui will carry the day in Kajiado Central Monday.

Unlike in 2013, when he fell to immediate former MP Joseph Nkaissery, Tutui walks to the ballot box tomorrow buoyed by the presence of a “live” government that has camped in Kajiado town for the last one week.

When he faced Nkaissery in 2013, there was no government in place and it was not clear which way the vote would go. But now with the allure of “being in government” and help of government machinery, Tutui may as well bag it.

“When you have a government in place, the work is easier. In fact for us, we are not selling the candidate. We are selling the government and we have no doubt, so much so that we are only looking at the margin of win,” JAP vice chairman David Murathe told The Standard on Sunday from Kajiado.

A similar theme was expressed by Kikuyu Council of Elders boss Mwangi wa Thuita when he visited Bisil town on Friday: “Serikali ni serikali. You must vote for the candidate who is wanted by the government.”

Tutui himself is alive to the advantageous position he finds himself in. When we caught up with him at his Bisil home on Friday, he appeared relaxed. He had just dispatched various teams led by Jubillee-allied leaders to various corners of the constituency as he took time to rest after long week of campaigns.

“We have a government firmly in place and therefore it should be clearer to our people that they should choose JAP. We have also merged our campaign teams and this gives us extra energy,” Tutui said.

His campaign strategy has entailed visiting central homesteads in the interior of Kajiado Central where he now believes is “under lock and key of JAP.”

His competitor Kanchori Memusi has however concentrated on the major towns like Kajiado, Namanga and Bisil. During the nomination, Tutui admits, he lost out in the three towns. But new factors, key among them defections have placed him in strategic position to win back the main towns. In Bisil for instance, the ODM candidate who split up the votes Silau Paita closed ranks with him on Friday.

“We have left ODM because they conned us of our victory. Through my supporters, I am guaranteeing baba (Tutui) about 2,000 votes from Bisil area not to mention others areas where I enjoyed critical support,” he said when defecting. Others who have defected to Tutui’s camp include John Loisa and Captain Antony Kiroken who have closed ranks with Tutui. The defectors, together with the Nairobi team led by Senator Mike Sonko have been making trips round the towns to convince votes to vote Tutui.

Tribal lines

Dalalekut ward appears to have the swing vote. This is where Deputy President William Ruto visited twice during his campaigns. The swing vote is also being projected on tribal lines. Of the 39,000 registered voters, about 30,000 are Maasai’s, Kikuyus 4500, Kambas 2500, Somalis 1500 and others 800.

Tutui is assured of almost all Kikuyu votes but will split up the Maa vote with his rival Memusi. The omnipresence of Agnes Ndetei in the area was ostensibly to garner the Kamba vote which was also sought by CORD co-principal Kalonzo Musyoka. “I have told them to follow the Maasai route and vote Tutui. I am convinced they will deliver the vote,” Ndetei told the Standard on Sunda

Tutui is, however worried about the drought factor. He confessed to the Standard on Sunday that the drought poses the “biggest challenge” to his campaign because majority of the people moving out in search of pasture are his traditional supporters.

Finally, the Nkaissery factor. His appointment to the all-influential internal security docket has boosted Tutui’s campaign. In the last one month of campaigns, locals were bombarded with messages of how much the government so loved them that they offered an extra seat in government to them. Nkaissery himself has been on the ground campaigning for the JAP candidate to the chagrin of his former party ODM.