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Elgeyo-Marakwet Senator-elect William Kisang has pledged to unify the Marakwet and Keiyo communities after he won the closely contested seat by a small margin.

President William Ruto-led United Democratic Alliance (UDA) shrugged off stiff competition to retain the seat, which fell vacant after former Senator Kipchumba Murkomen, was appointed Roads Cabinet Secretary by Kenya Kwanza.

In an interview yesterday, Mr Kisang, a former Marakwet West MP acknowledged that the county was grappling with a lot of challenges including rampant cases of banditry in Kerio Valley, which has led to loss of many lives.

“I know there are many issues but I promise to unify the county. I will ensure that we work as one.

I call on my worthy competitors to accept the will of the people and work with me to move the county forward,” said Mr Kisang who thanked his opponents for conducting peaceful elections and . Tim Kipchumba of Party for Peace and Democracy (PPD) was second with 38,151 votes while Jerotich Seii of Safina Party managed 2,660 votes to emerge third in the mini-poll which experienced a low voter turnout.

The mini-poll re-ignited the perennial rivalry between the dominant Marakwet and Keiyo communities. Ms Seii is from the Keiyo community whole Mr Kisang and Mr Kipchumba come from the Marakwet community.