Nakuru Senator Susan Kihika, who is seeking to unseat Governor Lee Kinyanjui, is walking a tightrope, amid a falling-out with Deputy President William Ruto’s lieutenants and some local MPs ahead of the August 9 General Election.
At the heart of her tiff with the party mandarins are accusations that she influenced the outcomes of some of the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party primaries.
The latest accusations of interference with the nominations, coupled with underlying supremacy battles over control of the party in Nakuru, threaten to strain her relationship with the party.
Sources have revealed that Ms Kihika is in bad books with the party bureaucrats, with some claiming she is planting seeds of discord in the party.
“It is true Senator Kihika had preferred candidates in the party nominations and may have influenced the outcome, something that has not gone down so well with the top party officials,” revealed a Nakuru MP who sought anonymity.
Reached for comment amid speculation of a tiff with the Senator, DP Ruto’s aide, Farouk Kibet, did not respond.
Despite her troubles, Ms Kihika has worn a brave face, dismissing claims that she was at loggerheads with UDA honchos.
Specifically, on alleged differences with Farouk, Ms Kihika said: “I do not have any issues with Farouk Kibet. That’s propaganda by my opponents who want to drive a wedge between us.”
“We have no issues at all, Farouk was even the best man during my wedding,so he is a family friend. The issue that he slapped me last week is laughable. It was propaganda propagated by bloggers hired by my opponents,” she added.
Ms Kihika, who became the Nakuru County Assembly Speaker after losing the Bahati parliamentary elections in 2013, garnered an impressive 672,143 votes in 2017 to become one of only three elected women senators. Her closest challenger, Mr Samwel Ogada of ODM, had 57,524.
She was named Senate Majority Whip, but was ousted in 2020 for her association with DP Ruto.
Yesterday, she insisted her relationship with the DP and the party was still great.
“I am not having any trouble with my party. That is political propaganda. I am firmly in the UDA party,” she told the Nation.
Ms Kihika has been accused of interfering with UDA primaries in Naivasha, Rongai constituencies and Biashara ward, claims she dismissed.
“All that is propaganda by my opponents, it is a political season and everything is possible,” she said in an interview.
The UDA National Elections Board last week ordered repeat elections in Rongai Constituency and Biashara Ward, which were conducted on Tuesday.
“Senator Kihika interfered with nominations in Naivasha, Rongai and Biashara ward where she had preferred candidates. She even influenced the appointment of presiding officers and clerks for the Biashara ward,” an elected lawmaker who sought anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter told the Nation.
This comes right after Ms Kihika was accused by Naivasha MP Jayne Kihara of “planting seeds of discord in the party” and supporting her opponent John Kihagi.
Mr John Kihagi represented the constituency in the National Assembly before Ms Kihara defeated him in the 2017 Jubilee Party primaries. Mr Kihagi, who had initially been announced the winner in the party primary, lost the ticket to Ms Kihara on Monday when the party’s disputes panel ruled he had 9,903 votes against Ms Kihara’s 9,904.
“We can’t allow [Ms Kihika] to continue creating disharmony in our party unless the UDA top hierarchy is sanctioning her actions,” said an infuriated Ms Kihara.
The MP accused the senator of “conspiring with Jubilee Party” to sponsor a mole to weaken UDA from within. She further alleged that some of the UDA candidates vying for the party’s primaries had the senator’s backing, despite her earlier having flip-flopped on her party of choice.
Ms Kihika is also said to have strained relationships with at least four local MPs who claim she has been picking fights with UDA supporters and local leaders, besides fielding her preferred aspirants to face elected leaders in the region.
“I wish the senator could desist from engaging in political fights that might be detrimental to the party’s success in the August polls. She has been picking fights with virtually everyone,” another local leader claimed yesterday.
Ms Kihara made the same claims, citing Ms Kihika’s past duels with Bahati MP Kimani Ngunjiri.
“The accusations are baseless, false and unfortunate ... However, given the political season that we are in, malicious propaganda is certainly expected. My one vote is in Bahati. I am not running for MP in Naivasha, so I am not even sure how my name gets dragged into this sort of mess. I can’t influence any election,” said Ms Kihika, as she dismissed the claims.
The latest infighting has compounded the situation for Ms Kihika who has in the past been accused of dominating in the region’s party leadership. She has for long been entangled in a war over control of the party with Mr Ngunjiri. The divisions have led to formation of two factions, one led by Mr Ngunjiri and the other by Ms Kihika.
A few months ago, Dr Ruto summoned Nakuru UDA members to resolve the differences and avoid further cracks in the party, to no avail.
“As far as I am concerned, there are no divisions in UDA party in Nakuru. I wish to clear the air that UDA is very strong in Nakuru. We only have a few teething problems that will be resolved,” said Mr Ngunjiri, in a recent interview.
Both Ms Kihika and Mr Ngunjiri have been positioning themselves to influence UDA politics in Nakuru and the South Rift.
Now, Mr Ngunjiri and Ms Kihara have withdrawn their support of Ms Kihika ahead of the elections. Mr Ngunjiri had fashioned himself as the greatest supporter of Ms Kihika as she guns for the governor’s seat.
Political pundits say her being at loggerheads with other local leaders might interfere with her bid to dislodge Mr Kinyanjui.
“Ms Kihika should avoid wars with local leaders, especially MPs because such a move can injure her political journey,” said lawyer and political analyst Steve Kabita.
