UDA primaries: Peris Tobiko loses Kajiado Governor ticket

Kajiado East MP Peris Tobiko addressing a political rally. [Peterson Githaiga]

Kajiado East Member of Parliament (MP) Peris Tobiko has lost her bid to run for Kajiado Governor on the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) ticket.

Tobiko got 26,002 votes, while the winner, Katoo Ole Metito, got 72,629 votes. Metito is the current Kajiado South MP.

In the Senate race, Samuel Seki got 44,670 votes to win the UDA ticket. He defeated three other contestants.

Leah Sankaire will fly the party’s flag in the Woman Representative race after getting 41,566 votes. She floored the incumbent, Janet Teyiaa, who got 39,212 votes.

The April 14 exercise was marred by rigging allegations.

Teyiaa protested after the County Returning Officer Paul Mugo declared Leah Sankaire the winner of the Woman Representative ticket.

Tobiko shocker

Kajiado East MP Peris Tobiko had, on several occasions, hosted Deputy President William Ruto in Kajiado during recent campaigns.

Tobiko was perceived to be enjoying close relations with Ruto, and her defeat in the primaries has come as a shocker to many.

On October 9, 2021, she hosted the deputy president at her Iloprosat home, sparking protests by her husband, Kishanto Ole Suuji, who said he hadn’t been consulted about Ruto’s trip to his matrimonial home.

In 2017, Tobiko secured re-election as Kajiado East MP on Jubilee Party ticket.

Tobiko’s rival for UDA ticket in the governor race, Katoo Ole Metito, will now face off against the incumbent Joseph Ole Lenku, who will seek to defend his seat on ODM ticket.

On April 12, ODM handed direct ticket to Lenku, a former Cabinet Secretary in President Uhuru Kenyatta’s administration.