Wisley Rotich beats Joseph Boinnet to win UDA Elgeyo-Marakwet gubernatorial ticket
Elgeyo Marakwet Governor Deputy Governor Wisley Rotich being carried by his supporters after clinching the UDA party ticket in the just concluded primaries.
Deputy Governor Wisley Rotich bagged the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party ticket for the Elgeyo-Marakwet gubernatorial seat, in what turned out to be a generational contest pitting the 34-year-old former banker against seasoned professionals.
Mr Rotich, who was battling former Inspector General of police Mr Joseph Boinnet, University don Dr Loice Kipkorir, former Eldoret national Polytechnic principal Josphat Sawe and engineer Sammy Tangus trounced them all by an unassailable lead.
It was no mean victory for the former banker, considering that he had only assembled a modest campaign machinery compared to his rivals.
Many had dismissed him as an underdog when it came to age and experience.
There was even a time the elders said he was yet to attain the age to lead a county. They had urged him to withdraw from the race and back his competitors, who were senior and more experienced and more educated.
But he proved critics wrong when he was declared the winner in the just concluded UDA primaries.
Mr Rotich garnered 42, 258 votes against Mr Boinett’s 32, 503 votes, while Mr Sawe got 11, 547, Engineer Tangus 3, 933 and Dr Kipkiror 1, 315 votes.
His competitors had vast experience in the public and private sectors following decades in service, compared to Mr Rotich who was plucked from the banking sector by Governor Alex Tolgos to head the cooperatives department, before landing the Deputy Governor’s position in the 2017 General Election.
Elgeyo Marakwet Deputy Governor Wisley Rotich displays his UDA party ticket after trouncing former Inspector General of police Mr Joseph Boinnet in the race for the gubernatorial seat.
According to Mr George Kimaiyo, an advocate of the High Court and a political pundit, Mr Rotich had presented himself as a leader who resonated well with the common man.
“He was referred to as a ‘gavana wa raia’ (the people’s governor) because you could find him dining in a tea room with local residents,” he said, citing how his agility, because of is young age, had played a big role in his nomination.
“Mr Rotich was very agile despite assembling a modest campaign machinery when compared with his competitors,” he said.
Working with the county government, may have given him an advantage over his rivals, as it had given him a better understanding how it works.
“Locals saw him as a better leader that resonates well with the hustler and bottom up narrative being advanced by the UDA party,” Mr Kimaiyo said.
In his acceptance speech after receiving the nomination certificate, Mr Rotich promised locals that he would turn around their livelihoods by investing in empowerment programs.
“I will not disappoint you despite the huge task you have given me. I am equal to the task,” he said at Iten.
