Aspirants push Ruto, Raila in rough corners

“Weka mabango chini (lower the placards).”

That is what Azimio presidential candidate Raila Odinga and his rival Deputy President William Ruto have been telling charged supporters of candidates for various seats at political rallies. 

Ruto and Raila have had an increasingly hard time managing the sibling rivalry between candidates pushing them to walk the tightrope for fear of antagonising their supporters. In a number of awkward cases,  Ruto and Raila have been forced not to endorse candidates of their parties in a delicate balancing act targeted to accommodate the interests of their rival partners.

Clear cases were witnessed in trips last week to Taita Taveta, Bungoma, Kakamega and Trans Nzoia counties by the duo to rally support for their State House ambitions.

In Bungoma, for instance, Ruto abandoned Mt Elgon MP Fred Kapondi, who is seeking re-election on his United Democratic Alliance (UDA) ticket in support of an independent candidate, Allan Maiyek.

While in the same trip, Ford Kenya leader Moses Wetangula, a principal of Kenya Kwanza Alliance, was headstrong calling for election of only of his party candidates in Bungoma, effectively pitching for Kapondi’s ouster.

 Wetangula accused Kapondi of campaigning against Senate Speaker Ken Lusaka, who is the Ford Kenya candidate in the Bungoma governorship contest.

 “We have politicians here in Bungoma who at night are with Azimio team and during daylight they are with Kenya Kwanza. We know you voters know them and will vote them out,” he said.

Wetangula has accused Kapondi of being a mole.

 Kapondi has been openly campaigning for Bungoma Governor Wycliffe Wangamati. His move followed Wetangula’s decision to field a Ford Kenya party candidate, Evans Chemwotei, to oust him.

The situation was the same in Trans Nzoia where Ruto restrained himself from campaigning for UDA candidates during his tour. Opinion polls released on Thursday show that Azimio candidate George Natembeya of DAP-K is leading Kiminini MP Chris Wamalwa of Ford Kenya in the governorship race.

 Both Ruto and Wetangula were forced to campaign for Kenya Kwanza but asked voters to decide the lower tier seats. They had tough time to calm youths, who were shouting the names of their preferred candidates.  It was also a dicey affair during Ruto’s trip to Vihiga. The crowd shouted the name of Clement Sloya of UDA while he pushed for Dr Emmanuel Ayodi of Amani National Congress. Ruto cautioned their Kenya Kwanza candidates and supporters against conducting chaotic campaigns, saying the move could cost them seats.

Chaotic campaigns

 Ruto reminded their supporters that the rally they were attending was for Sabatia MP Alfred Agoi, who was launching his manifesto for the Vihiga governorship and not for Sloya or Ayodi.

 The DP also asked their supporters to focus on how they can defeat their opponents, saying he will not allow a few people to cause chaos in Kenya Kwanza rallies.  “Please let us have respect. If there is somebody sent here to spoil this rally he or she should leave,” Ruto warned.

 Wetangula said Kenya Kwanza will work with whoever will be elected.  Sloya and Jackson Swadi, who is contesting the Vihiga Senate seat on UDA have been defiant to Mudavadi’s calls for the county to back his party candidates.

ANC fielded Enos Butiko for the Senate seat. In Azimio, Raila, his running mate Martha Karua and Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka found themselves in a tight spot after their candidates faced off during rallies in Taita Taveta.

 The situation has been replicated during the tour of Northern Kenya, Nyamira and Kisii where rival candidates within the Azimio coalition caused commotion in rallies. 

There was a fierce exchange in Taita Taveta between Governor Granton Samboja of Jubilee and former MP Dan Mwazo (Wiper) forcing the Azimio top brass to call for truce. Others in the contest include Thomas Mwakwida (ODM), Patience Nyange (Narc), and George Mwandembo of Democratic Action Party-Kenya.

 Samboja was irked by Mwazo, who had discredited his administration. 

 He at the same time urged the leadership to abstain from zoning the county and instead let voters decide on the local leadership.  But in rebuttal, Samboja hit back, accusing Mwazo of being the face of failure at the Kenya Ferry Services when he was the chair.

Wreck havoc

 He also lashed out at Mwazo for allegedly approving translocation of elephants from Laikipia to Taita Taveta where they have continued to wreck havoc on residents, during his tenure as Tourism Minister.    Kalonzo indicated that he will return to the county to campaign for his party candidates

“Let me not me not spoil the party.  The beauty is, you are all under one house called Azimio,” Kalonzo said.

But Karua warned that if the situation remains unchecked, it could easily hand the rival camp an advantage and chance to win.

 “We under Azimio are one people and we need to maintain a peaceful campaign otherwise, we will give our opponents the opportunity to explore our weaknesses,” she said in Wundanyi.

 Reports by Reuben Mwambingu, Dennis Lumiti and Enock Amukhale