Uproar as parties nominate ‘undeserving’ persons MCAs

The nomination of MCAs across the country has caused uproar in both President William Ruto and Azimio boss Raila Odinga’s camps, with the most-deserving individuals having been left out.

With the electoral agency having gazetted the nominated ward reps, controversy has continued to ensue following claims of favouritism.

Party stalwarts have been accused of hand-picking relatives, lovers, friends and sycophants to the positions in county assemblies at the expense of deserving candidates.

The United Democratic Alliance (UDA) of President Ruto and Mr Odinga’s ODM are said to have hand-picked the nominees without the involvement of party members.

In Kericho, UDA has been accused of failing to nominate people living with disabilities.

It is a replica of the 2017 case when the Jubilee party failed to nominate PWDs to the county assembly leading to an outcry from stakeholders in the region.

Read: Nomination shortlist for special interest groups sparks protest

The nominated MCAs are Koskey Kipng’etich Vincent representing the youth, Opile Noela Omollo (minority), Issack Matkeir (marginalised) and Mercy Njeri Gikonyo (marginalised).

The others are Chepkirui Edinah Tonui, Beatrice Chepkemoi, Korir Fancy Chepkorir, Langat Chepkoech Winny, Chelangat Monica, Chebwogen Evaline, Bavina Chepkirui, Bett Gladys Sang, Chepng’eno Jesca, Langat Irine Chebet, Sirma Lily Chepkemoi, and Chepngeno Gabriela.

PWDs left out

Mr Benjamin Koech and Ms Beatrice Langat, who in an earlier list had been nominated to represent PWDs in the county assembly, cried foul and called for a review of the exercise.

“It is unfortunate that our names were replaced with those of people who are able. Kericho stands out as the only county that did not nominate PWDs after the 2017 and 2022 elections,” Mr Koech said.

He said they had petitioned the party headquarters on the matter but have not received any response. The new MCAs are expected to be sworn in on Tuesday next week.

In Bomet County, Mr Samwel Keter, a former nominated MCA, claimed that he had been locked out of the nomination list after being listed under a category he did not apply for.

“I applied for nomination under the PWDs category, but when the list was released, I was placed in the gender section. Despite an appeal to the UDA party to correct the anomaly, I did not receive any response,” said Mr Keter who served in the assembly between 2013-2017.

Mr Keter said he was considering moving to court to stop the swearing-in of the MCAs slated for Wednesday next week, as he seeks to compel the party to correct the error and nominate him.

Mr Robert Serbai, the immediate former Embomos MCA whose name was in the original list under gender top-up despite having applied under the minority category had initially protested the move but was not available for a comment on the latest development have not made it to the final list.

Read: Bungoma: Uproar over Kenya Kwanza MCA nominations

Rarieda MP Otiende Amolo pointed out that the nomination for the positions in the county assembly of Siaya left a lot to be desired.

“In the Siaya assembly where there were 12 nomination slots, the process was skewed to the extent that Rarieda constituency, where I am the legislator, was not allocated any slot. Ideally, because the county has 12 wards, each should have two nominees from all six constituencies. Together with other leaders, we shall fight against this trend,” said Mr Otiende.

"Cronies" picked

Alego Usonga lawmaker Samuel Atandi condemned some leaders within the Orange party saying they changed nomination slots for the benefit of their cronies.

“We have problems in ODM, especially on the nomination. We fought to ensure that we got seats for the party in the August elections. It is sad that some people are out to frustrate our efforts when it comes to nominating people,” said Mr Atandi.

The legislators claimed that the names of the nominees were changed in Nairobi.

“Every region is complaining about the skewed nomination process, be it Garissa, Kakamega and other areas where the Orange party had nomination slots,” added Mr Atandi.

Residents of Narok and Isiolo have protested the nomination of persons they have described as ‘foreigners’ to their assemblies.

The nomination of Alice Chepkurui Kering, a former Minority Whip at the Nakuru County Assembly by the ODM is the most criticised, with politicians siding with residents to reject the move.

Narok Senator Ledama ole Kina termed the nomination of Ms Kering as ‘the biggest con game ever’ and vowed to replace her with a Narok resident.

“This is the biggest con game ever. Jubilee Party are you guys shooting up crack cocaine or what? How can you nominate a Nakuru MCA to serve the people of Narok? This is not only ridiculous but an insult to the people of Narok,” said the Narok Senator.

According to Kimilili MP Didmus Barasa, many leaders misuse the nomination opportunity noting that in future, there is a need for parties to come up with committees which will look into the matter to iron out the thorny issues.

“Some leaders nominate their girlfriends and relatives but you know we do not have a procedure for forwarding the names. In future, what we should do is to develop a committee that would be picking persons to be nominated,” said Mr Barasa.

For Belgut MP Nelson Koech, the political parties’ nomination process will continue to disenfranchise many people unless the law and regulations are reviewed.

“The complaints are not anchored in law but politically, they hold. As a country, we need to get proper laws and regulations to guide the process in future,” said Mr Koech.

Already the Wafula Chebukati-led Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has disclosed that the lists of political parties detailing nominated candidates are closed and cannot be changed.

“We wish to inform the public that as per the constitution and the Elections Act, the party list remains a closed list as at the date of General Election and for the term of Parliament or County Assembly, as the case may be, for which the candidates are elected and cannot be changed unless through an order of the court,” Mr Chebukati said.

However, the Belgut MP advised the party to always consult with the community before making decisions which end up being opposed.

“Political parties use their own matrix which disadvantages other groups like people living with disabilities. You find a situation where a youth is picked in a place where a person living with a disability would have been nominated. Some of these incidents disenfranchise many people.”