It is a battle of clans in race for Narok assembly Speaker
Former Majority leader and Narok Town Ward MCA Mr Benard Torome(center) with some Ward Reps addressing Journalists outside the Narok County Assembly at a past event. The Narok County Assembly is set to have 49 MCAs up from the previous 47 after 19 were nominated to the assembly
It is a battle of Maasai clans in the race for Narok County Assembly Speaker, with about 10 aspirants expressing interest in the third most powerful county post.
The minority Siria, from Transmara West, remains the favourite for the seat as the clans and communities share key county positions.
The contestants want to replace former Speaker Nkoidila ole Lankas, who has said he will defend his seat.
Among them is the pioneer Speaker, Mr Nicholas Kamwaro.
Both Mr Kamwaro and Mr Lankas hail from the populous Purko clan, to which Governor Patrick Ntutu also belongs.
Others are lawyer Allan Meing'ati, who vied for the Narok North MP’s seat under ODM but lost to Ms Agnes Pareiyo of Jubilee in last month’s polls.
Another aspirant is Mr Luka Parnyumbe, a former independent Senate candidate and the chairman of people with disabilities in Narok. He is also from the Purko clan.
The minority Siria will be banking on Mr Shadrack Sabaya and Mr David Dikir as they angle to get a fair share of the county’s influential seats.
Mr Sabaya contested the Kilgoris MP’s seat and lost to veteran Kanu-era politician Julius Sunkuli, who made a comeback after two decades in the political cold.
Mr Dikir, popularly known as Tall, is a former manager of the Kilgoris constituency CDF and is touted as the frontrunner in the race.
Aspirants must pick up their nomination papers as from Thursday, September 15, assembly Clerk Maiyani Tuya said.
The swearing-in of the assembly’s 49 MCAs will take place on Wednesday next week, after which they will elect a Speaker.
Intensive lobbying for the post is going on.
The contest is a battle between the ruling Kenya Kwanza and Azimio One Kenya.
Kenya Kwanza has 19 of the 30 elected MCAs, while Azimio has 11.
Lolgorian MCA-elect Michael Seme (Jubilee), who hails from the Siria clan, believes the seat should be theirs for the taking.
"The governor is a Purko, the deputy governor is a Kipsigis, the senator is Ildamat. As Siria, we feel that we deserve this Speaker's seat,” Mr Seme said.
He said the clan should not be discriminated against simply because it held the governor’s seat for 10 years.
Former governor Samuel Tunai is from the Siria clan.
