'Gavana wa Baiskeli' - Meet Uasin Gishu youth gunning for county top seat

In what many would perceive as a joke taken too far, a man in Uasin Gishu County has excited the electorate by opting to campaign from door to door riding on his bicycle.

Away from the grandiose campaigns that many candidates put on to woo voters, Mr Solomon Maritim, 35, aka Gavana Wa Baiskeli, is only armed with at least four posters mounted on his bicycle – two in the front and two in the rear – and a manifesto in his pocket.

This, he says, is enough for his campaign in the expansive county.

“I am not a pushover the way my competitors want to paint me. I want to prove a point that politics is not for the wealthy but a game of ideologies on how to alleviate the socio-economic status of the population,” Mr Maritim said when Nation.Africa caught up with him on the campaign trail at Maili Nne trading centre on Tuesday afternoon.

“It is only the bicycle I own and I have been using it to traverse the entire county. I am happy because thus far I have covered over 70 percent of the county and my relatives and friends spread out in the region are also campaigning for me," he said.

Mr Maritim, a finance graduate from Moi University, does not have a campaign secretariat either, like many political aspirants who use this to coordinate their political activities and come up with strategies to win seats.

“These strategists later come in the form of gatekeepers whenever one is elected into office. Wananchi cannot access such offices because the strategists create a sort of protocol to be followed,” he said. 

“My principle is to have each voter be my strategist so that if I get elected, they will have no bureaucracy in accessing me.”

There hasn’t been a single day that he mounted a campaign vehicle like his competitors, and he is confident it does not matter much.

First attempt

He recalled how in 2017, he trounced many well-oiled competitors to emerge in position three after the incumbent Governor Jackson Mandago and businessman Zedekiah Bundotich in the Jubilee party primaries.

“My competitors know well that my manifesto resonates well with the wananchi. That is why they want to portray my candidacy as a joke because they know I have been giving them a run for their money,” said the father of two. 

“They should not brush me off because I don’t have deep pockets compared with them, because I will trounce them.”

But his announcement that he will take a second stab at the governor’s seat was received with a lot of scepticism.

“Many dismissed my candidacy because of my poor financial background and tried to relegate me to a lower seat like a ward rep, which they felt suited me more, but I declined,” he said.

“It is high time we elected ordinary people who understand the plight of the people.”

So, just how does he campaign?

Each morning, Gavana wa Baiskeli makes calls to his supporters across the region to be updated on upcoming events that could interest him or demand his attendance.

“I sometimes cycle for over 50km to an event and along the way I meet many voters to whom I sell my agenda. I am elated because my message is being received well.”

He says apart from the nomination fees he paid through friends chipping in, he has spent little money on logistics, because he does not give handouts.

“Locals know I am one of them and they will never ask me for handouts.”

“I do not have posters across the county or billboards in towns as my competitors do. I believe in selling my manifesto to voters, other than using money to solicit for votes.”

Whenever he passes, bystanders cheer him on, shouting, “Gavana wa Baiskeli! Gavana wa Baiskeli! which he acknowledges by waving.

Mr Maritim will face the former envoy to Pakistan, Julius Bitok, his China ex-counterpart Sarah Serem, former Nairobi County Environment executive Veska Kangogo, Eldoret businessman Jonathan Bii, Uasin Gishu County Assembly Chief Whip David Singoei, and Soy MP Caleb Kositany, who are eyeing the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party ticket.

Whoever wins the UDA ticket will face independent candidates Zedekiah Bundotich and William Kirwa (United Democratic Movement).

Born in Kapchuma, Huruma ward, Uasin Gishu County, he attended Tuiyobei Primary School before joining Wareng High School and Moi University.

The greatest undoing of Kenyan politics, he says, is that leaders grow out of touch with the electorate once they get into office.

“If elected, I want to revolutionise the dairy industry by introducing bonuses for farmers just like the tea sector. I do not believe wooing locals with grand projects that are unrealistic in the long run because they require billions in infrastructural development, but use the little we have to improve livelihoods,” he said.

Uasin Gishu has more than 400,000 registered voters spread across its six constituencies of Kesses, Turbo, Ainabkoi, Kapseret, Soy and Moiben.

Mr Maritim says the county has a lot of potential in crop farming but farmers are struggling with many challenges, including perennial poor maize prices and lack of subsidised fertiliser. He intends to change the status quo.

He would use the governor’s position to ensure all people have access to the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) and affordable healthcare and dependents’ age increased from 18 minimum to 25.

Mixed reactions

Mr Isack Mohamed, an Uasin Gishu resident, says people have invested a lot in politics, pumping in millions of shillings and Mr Maritim’s ambition is farfetched.

“Politics is an expensive venture and as much as we want common people like Mr Maritim to lead us because he is one of us, he lacks the wherewithal to reach all voters. This might work against him,” he opined.

But Mr Cheben Patrick, another resident and an ardent supporter of Mr Maritim, says they will vote for him in the UDA primaries because he is a real leader among the less economically empowered.

“He has the needs of the people at heart and practical solutions. We will elect him because we feel better represented when a poor man leads us,” he said.

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