The Ruto-Kibicho-Muhoho Effect in the Kibra By-Elections

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A Photo College of DP William Ruto and Karanja Kibicho

The race for the Kibra Parliamentary seat keeps getting interesting as the days go by with each camp putting in the much needed work in campaigns to try convince the electorate to vote them in come the d-day.

The battle to succeed the late Ken Okoth has however not been rosy for all the parties involved as aspirants and various political outfits keep attacking each other in a bid to reign supreme over the other.

It is also worth noting that the three leading candidates in the race: Imran Okoth of ODM, Jubilee’s Macdonald Mariga and ANC’s Eliud Owalo are all ‘flexing their muscles’ as they all stand a great chance heading to the November 7th By-elections.

The trio have been touring various parts of Kibra but what is not known to many is the fact that they all have special people in the higher ranks of power backing their bids.

For starters, ODM’s Imran Okoth is said to be banking on the support of Interior PS Karanja Kibicho, a man who is known not to be a great lover of Deputy President William Ruto. Kibicho has allegedly been financing Imran’s campaigns and has also ordered government officials within Nairobi to do all it takes to ensure that Imran will emerge the winner come November 7th.

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ODM’s Imran Okoth//Photo Courtesy

Reports indicate that Kibicho is for a Imran win as he believes that he will keep pushing his late brother’s legacy and also help cement the relationship between Raila and Uhuru Kenyatta.

Away from the Kibicho-Imran ‘collabo’, Eliud Owalo is also said to be getting major support from the Kenyatta family through Uhuru’s brother Muhoho Kenyatta.

Muhoho believes that the no-nonsense Owalo could be used to help deal with Deputy President William Ruto or Raila Odinga should the trio fall out at some point. Owalo’s recent outbursts directed towards both Ruto and Raila have been attributed to his strong links with Muhoho.

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ANC’s Eliud Owalo//Photo Courtesy

It is believed that Raila’s preferred candidate heading into the ODM Party nominations was Peter Ochieng Orero.

Orero however lost to Imran in what is believed to be a well calculated move by influential people within ODM.

According to KahawaTungu, Imran, who was the CDF manager during his late brother’s tenure as MP, used the CDF database to know the registered ODM members and as such got an upper hand over his rivals.

ODM Secretary General Edwin Sifuna is also believed to have had a hand in Imran’s victory. The ODM Supremo ensured that a number of ODM members did not cast their votes in areas that were considered to be Anti-Imran and with that he (Imran) emerged victorious.

Away from Imran and Owalo, the Mariga fever is slowly catching up with a number of politicians and Kibra residents. There is no doubt that Mariga is DP William Ruto’s preferred candidate.

The DP is out to ensure that Mariga brings the seat to Jubilee at all costs. Ruto sees the Kibra by-elections as a perfect ground to discipline Opposition Chief Raila Odinga politically.

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Deputy President William Ruto with Macdonald Mariga//Photo Courtesy

Ruto has invested his resources on Mariga and has been able to neutralize the ODM effect in Kibra. Mariga is able to hold mega rallies attracting mammoth crowds without fear of being disrupted by goons all because he is close to Ruto who control’s a number of state machinery.

Well, with the look of things, all the three top candidates in the Kibra race have people in the high places having their backs. It remains to be seen who among them will be picked by the people of Kibra come November 7th.

Before then, let the games continue. Sit back, relax and enjoy as everything unfolds on the political grounds.

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