I will not resign as DG, Prof Cheserek says amid bitter 'political divorce' with Rotich

Governor Rotich and his Deputy Cheserek recently were embroilled in a public spat exposing the widening political rift between them. [File, Courtesy]

Elgeyo Marakwet Deputy Governor Grace Cheserek has broken her silence on her fallout with Governor Wisley Rotich, saying she will not resign but is unavailable to run alongside him in the 2027 election.

Her remarks follow a recent public spat between the two leaders at an event in Kapyego, Marakwet East, where Governor Rotich is reported to have accused her of being petty in an exchange that laid bare the widening rift in the county leadership.

In a phone interview with The Standard, Prof Cheserek said she had reflected on their working relationship and made a firm decision to remain in office and serve the people who elected her, even as the political rift between the two county leaders continues to widen.

She said their working relationship was better in 2023/2024, when they consulted regularly and shared a common understanding of how to advance the county’s development agenda.

In that period, she said, it gave her hope that the joint leadership would deliver on the promises made to wananchi during the campaigns.

She contends, however, that things went south after 2024 and that the partnership has never recovered.

Prof Cheserek said she will remain in office and serve the people who elected her, even as the political rift between the two county leaders continues to widen. [File, Standard]

Since then, she claims to have faced intimidation and a lack of support from the governor’s office, which, in her view, has made it difficult to effectively carry out her mandate as Deputy Governor.

Prof Cheserek further alleged that her repeated calls for supervision of health facilities without medicine were ignored, despite the suffering of residents who relied on public hospitals and dispensaries for treatment.

She maintained that raising these issues was part of her duty, not an act of rebellion, and that she could not remain silent while wananchi were left without essential services.

She said she has now stopped supporting activities linked to Governor Rotich’s political activities, a decision she described as principled, made after concluding that continued involvement would compromise her position on accountability and service delivery.

“I will not resign. I was given a contract by wananchi, and I have to finish it,” she said.

She stressed, however, that completing her term does not mean remaining silent. She said she would continue to call out any ills in the county government and speak up when things are not working, insisting that the office of the Deputy Governor is a constitutional office whose responsibilities she intends to fully exercise until the end of her term.

“I will continue to call out any ills in the county, but I will not be a mere advisor and a flower girl,” she said.

Despite the fallout, Cheserek said she would serve her full term and continue pushing projects for wananchi, particularly those related to service delivery, accountability and the welfare of ordinary residents.

She said she would soon make a major statement on her political direction ahead of the 2027 polls, adding that she was still consulting widely before making her position public.

She also stressed that gender-based violence should be called out and women protected ahead of the 2027 polls, saying political competition should not expose women to intimidation, harassment or harm.

Efforts to get comment from Governor Rotich have been unsuccessful by press time.