A renewed push for Gusii unity has seen a caucus comprising the region’s politicians and professionals settle on Education Cabinet Secretary Ezekiel Machogu as its patron and Foreign Affairs Chief Administrative Secretary Joash Maangi as the chairman.
The two were chosen during a meeting held at the Bomas of Kenya in Nairobi last Sunday and in which several notable figures from the two counties of Kisii and Nyamira that form Gusiiland were conspicuously missing, casting a long shadow of doubt over the eventual success of this latest endeavour to have the region speak in one voice politically after previous attempts failed.
The choice of Mr Machogu as Gusii spokesman is a polarising one. While his allies believe he is best-suited to lead the community, those backing Kisii Governor Simba Arati are dead set against it. Dedan Kimathi University Council Chairperson Jane Nyakang’o is the group’s secretary while Bomas of Kenya CEO Peter Gitaa is the organising secretary. On the exclusion of Mr Arati and Nyamira Governor Amos Nyaribo from the meeting, Mr Maangi said the caucus is still growing and will eventually accommodate all leaders.
“You have to start from somewhere. The people who attended today’s meeting are mostly those who reside in Nairobi. Our governors are back home in the counties,” the former Kisii governor told Nation on Sunday.
The Machogu team is pushing the CS to fill the big shoes left behind by former Cabinet minister Simeon Nyachae and former Interior CS Fred Matiang’i.
Mr Machogu who lost the Kisii gubernatorial race to Mr Arati, faces an uphill task to gain a foothold of the political mantle of Gusii. On the other hand, Mr Arati has been trying to exert his authority in regional politics with varied degrees of success.
Kisii Senator Richard Onyonka, who is the longest serving legislator among the current crop of leaders, believes that the community is in search of a political identity after all long-serving legislators such as Prof Sam Ongeri and Dr Chris Obure were voted out by a weary electorate yearning for fresh leadership.
Mr Obure started his political journey more than five decades ago while Prof Ongeri joined parliament in 1988 after a career as a paediatrician and expert in renal science at the Kenyatta National Hospital for over three decades.
"With the generational change that has ushered in younger, ambitious and somehow inexperienced leaders, there is some kind of confusion as to how to navigate the void left by those considered politically sophisticated enough to take the Kisii community to the next level," Mr Onyonka told Nation.
Questions have been raised about the composition of the cadre of professionals in the caucus after it emerged that among them are people with questionable pasts, with some accused of running down the institutions they served.
“The inclusion of some individuals with criminal pasts in the team of professionals presents a problem because it waters down the seriousness of the group,” said one professional who was not invited and who requested anonymity for fear of being ostracised.
Mr Arati had served as Dagoretti North MP for two terms before shifting his base to Kisii to become the governor.
He has declared himself as the "omonogeri" (spokesperson) of Kisii shortly before declaring his interest in the governorship.
However, his self-declaration as the community’s spokesman has not gone down well with veteran politicians, who believe that one must gain the confidence of the majority in order to legitimately become the spokesman of the community.
