The race to succeed Governor Josphat Nanok has intensified less than two months to the August 9 polls.
The contest features former Petroleum Cabinet Secretary John Munyes of Jubilee, John Lodepe of United Democratic Alliance (UDA) and Mr Joseph Atol of Mabadiliko Party.
Loima MP Jeremiah Lomorukai, who was eyeing the seat on an ODM ticket, was not cleared by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission.
Mr Lomorukai — who replaced Mr Nanok as the ODM National Vice Chairman — had picked Dr John Erus from Kalokol in Turkana Central Constituency as his running mate.
Regional balance will be a major factor on who becomes the next governor. Some argue that Turkana South, where Governor Nanok comes from, have had their chance and should allow other regions to take over the county’s top leadership.
The three main camps are seeking to paint a picture of regional balance by the choice of their running mates and association with candidates for the woman rep and Senate seats.
Even after describing himself as the most qualified leader in the county to give the community political direction, it appears that it won't be a walk in the park for Mr Nanok, given his active role in UDA after shifting alliance from ODM.
The governor had said he dumped ODM because it was not taking into consideration the interests of the Turkana people.
Mr Nanok settled on Mr Lodepe as his successor on a UDA ticket, a decision that saw Turkana South MP James Lomenen, County Assembly Speaker Ekitela Lokaale and Prof Malachy Ekal of the Wiper Party ditch UDA.
He said Mr Lodepe is the best candidate to take over the county’s leadership to ensure continued service delivery and completion of all pending projects.
Mr Lodepe, who had picked unionist Peter Ewaat as his running mate, dropped him at the last minute for youthful lawyer Ekusi Lore Sudais.
And with the intervention of President Uhuru Kenyatta, Mr Munyes received the backing of Mr Lomenen and County Assembly Speaker Lokaale who shelved their ambitions.
Mr Lokaale is now Mr Munyes’ running mate while Mr Lomenen is eyeing the Senate seat, currently occupied by Prof Ekal.
Being an experienced politician, Mr Munyes believes this is his moment to clinch the seat he “lost unfairly” to his longtime rival, Governor Nanok.
Jubilee Party's Munyes, who got 53, 306 votes against ODM’s Nanok who garnered 73,913 in the 2017 election, had contested the results.
However, the High Court in Lodwar dismissed the petition, giving Mr Nanok a second term in a county that has largely maintained the second highest equitable share of revenue after Nairobi.
On his campaign agenda, Mr Munyes said many Turkana residents can't access food, forcing the county to spend Sh370 million in three months to provide 640,000 people with relief food.
“Patients are forced to buy drugs from private clinics due to shortage at public hospitals. The devolved unit has also done little to provide adequate water for pastoralists, with more than 10,000 of them always forced to migrate to Uganda in search of water whenever there is drought in Turkana,” said Mr Munyes.
He noted that during the 1980s, there used to be 12 functional irrigation schemes that boosted food security, saying a lot of funds are currently spent on ‘pilot food projects’.
The former CS said Jubilee Party has a formidable team of experienced politicians who have a desire to positively transform the county through tackling food insecurity, poverty and unemployment.
He accused Mr Nanok of failing to uplift the living standards of residents since the advent of devolution, alleging 'massive corruption' in the current administration.
“My administration's main priority will be to tackle food insecurity, water scarcity, poverty, unemployment and improve healthcare,” he said.
Mr Lodepe — who established Missionary Lodepe Foundation just before he became MP in 2013 — has promised to invest in the education sector because, as an orphan, his school fees was paid by a well-wisher.
“Poverty has denied many children an opportunity to realise their dreams. Through assisting the needy children proceed with their education, it will be easy to uplift the standards of living of their families,” he said.
He said with thriving irrigation schemes, there would be no need for the county government to spend millions of shillings to buy maize from other counties.
“We’ll buy from farmers within the county who can produce maize at irrigation schemes in Katilu and Morulem,” he said.
On insecurity, he said there should be a manhunt for armed bandits.
Mr Lodepe urged residents of the neighboring West Pokot County to elect political leaders who advocate for peaceful coexistence at the border, instead of those who incite them through ‘sponsored raids’.
Mr Atol of Mabadiliko Party said his administration will first focus on peacebuilding missions along the border to tackle insecurity.
He said insecurity hampers development in the region. “To fully utilise public funds along the border for positive change, I will work closely with the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission to demarcate boundaries so that every community is aware of its territory,” the former Kenya Literature Bureau production manager said.
He said the perennial insecurity in the region is politically instigated to force members of the Turkana community out of their ancestral land. “Through working closely with IEBC, we will tackle this problem by ensuring that everyone is informed about the boundary,” he said.
TOMORROW: Machakos County, where a battle of titans to succeed Alfred Mutua is on
