UDA polls: How voters punished political turncoats
Voters queue at St Teresa Girls Secondary School polling centre in Starehe Constituency on April 14, 2022 during the UDA nominations.
Politicians who joined Deputy President William Ruto’s camp late were some of the biggest casualties in last week’s primaries. Voters seemingly punished them for being turncoats and Johnny-come-latelies.
Some of the leaders, who have also been the harshest critics of President Uhuru Kenyatta and Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya Coalition flag-bearer Raila Odinga, joined the United Democratic Alliance party late last year.
They include former Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu, Laikipia Woman Rep Cate Waruguru, MPs Peris Tobiko (Kajiado East), Moses Cheboi (Kuresoi North), Gichuhi Mwangi (Tetu), Wainaina Wa Jungle (Thika Town), Wilson Sossion (nominated) and Isaac Mwaura (nominated senator).
Ms Waruguru, who was eyeing the Laikipia East parliamentary seat, lost to the incumbent Amin Deddy. Ms Waruguru had long been seen as the favourite for the seat and she had even turned her attention to the General Election as she engaged in bitter exchanges with Mr Mwangi Kiunjuri of The Service Party (TSP), who is also running.
Popularly known as ‘Mama Simba’, Ms Waruguru got 5,595 votes against Mr Deddy’s 12,743. Former area MP Anthony Mutahi got 2,700 votes.
“I thank my supporters for their support and I want to assure them that all is well. I will issue a comprehensive statement on my next course of action after the Easter holiday,” she posted on her social media accounts.
She’s yet to lodge any complaint with the party over the nominations. She re-joined UDA last November after ditching the ruling Jubilee Party.
She was in the DP’s camp before she bolted out on June 10, 2020. At the time, National Assembly Minority Whip Junet Mohamed took her to Capitol Hill where she met Orange Democratic Movement leader Raila Odinga. She pledged loyalty to President Uhuru Kenyatta and Mr Odinga and expressed her support for the cooperation between the two.
At the time, she attributed her exit from the DP’s camp to national unity. She, however, re-joined Dr Ruto last year. In Ruiru, Mr Mwaura lost to the incumbent, Mr Simon King’ara.
Mr Mwaura’s loyalty to the party and Dr Ruto wasn’t enough to convince UDA members to vote for him in the primaries. In the Kiambu gubernatorial race, Mr Wainaina claimed he had been rigged out in favour of Senator Kimani Wamatangi.
“I thought UDA was a democratic party but it is unfortunate that they had a pre-determined candidate for Kiambu seats. I want to assure my supporters that my name will be on the ballot; I’ll communicate about the direction we will take the next two days,” he said.
Nominated Senator Isaac Mwaura.
He has since declared he will run as an independent candidate. He will battle it out with Mr Wamatangi, Chama Cha Kazi (CCK) Party leader Moses Kuria, Tujibebe boss and former Kiambu Governor William Kabogo and the incumbent, Dr James Nyoro.
Former Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu, who joined UDA in August last year, performed poorly in the primaries. Elsewhere, Ms Tobiko lost in the Kajiado South polls to area MP Katoo ole Metito.
Ms Tobiko, who is Environment Cabinet Secretary Keriako Tobiko’s younger sister, joined UDA On October 9 last year. She demanded a repeat of the nominations, saying the exercise was bungled by party officials.
“It was not the people who voted. It was ballot papers that were stashed and counted. We have evidence of those sacks carrying marked ballot papers,” said Ms Tobiko.
Other casualties were Tetu MP James Gichuhi and former Tharaka-Nithi Governor Samuel Ragwa. Mr Gichuhi lost to a newcomer, Mr Mwangi Wandeto, who garnered 8,511 votes against his 7,900. Mr Gichuhi joined Dr Ruto on December 5 last year.
Kajiado East MP Peris Tobiko at Serena Hotel, Nairobi, in January.
In the Tharaka-Nithi senatorial nominations, Mukothima MCA Mwenda Gataya won with 40,746 votes against Mr Ragwa’s 33,742. Mr Sossion, a former Kenya National Union of Teachers secretary-general who joined DP in December last year from Odinga’s ODM, lost in Bomet.
Big casualties
Lawyer Hillary Sigei won with 77,500 votes, Senator Christopher Lang’at got 65,006, while Mr Sossion came third with 45,371. Former Inspector-General of Police Joseph Boinnet and ex-Devolution Cabinet Secretary Charles Keter, were among the big casualties in the primaries.
In gubernatorial races, Mr Boinnet lost to Elgeyo-Marakwet Deputy Governor Wisley Rotich, while Mr Keter lost to Dr Eric Mutai in Kericho.
In Nakuru, National Assembly Deputy Speaker Moses Cheboi lost to Sirikwa MCA Alfred Kipronoh Mutai in the Kuresoi North primary election. Throughout his tenure, Mr Cheboi played neutral politics, remaining a fence sitter until December last year when he came out openly and declared his support for Dr Ruto.
To many of the politicians, it seems, their late arrival in UDA might have been their greatest undoing. University of Nairobi lecturer Herman Manyora said the electorate may have rejected them because of their political nomadism and inconsistency.
“When you keep switching political allegiance back-and-forth, you become inconsistent and eventually unreliable. That explains why some of the politicians like Waruguru could not win in UDA primaries. Over time, the electorate feels you are unreliable and therefore not fit to lead,” he said.
“Some of the politicians have also been hurling insults at President Kenyatta. They may have been punished for playing unhygienic politics.”
Political analyst Steve Kabita said voters lost faith in them due to their inconsistency and ‘political nomadism’ may. “They were punished by voters. Many do not have a solid development record; they rely on the political wave. It is a lesson to some that hurling insults at leaders and the electorate does not translate into votes,” he said.
