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| Nandi county Assembly Deputy Speaker, The late Hesbon Kiprop Metto. |
By JEMEDARI Mwanawakiume
Deputy President William Ruto’s political strength in the Rift Valley is set to be tested again.
Some Kanu officials have have expressed confidence that they would defeat Ruto’s Jubilee in the Lelmokwo-Ngechek Ward by-election in Nandi county.
“It’s common knowledge that the Kericho polls were rigged and this time around we will not allow that to happen,” said Paul Kibet, a Kanu official, as published by The Star on Wednesday, March 30.
The seat fell vacant following the death of MCA Hesbon Metto in February. Metto was also the deputy speaker of the Nandi county assembly.
Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) is yet to announce the voting date but Nandi Governor Cleophas Lagat has already assured Ruto that he would lead campaigns to ensure Jubilee retained the seat.
The Kericho senatorial by-election saw Ruto and Baring Senator Gideon Moi, and their supporters, involved in a protracted war words in what many saw as a battle for supremacy in the Rift Valley.
In the evening of March 7, IEBC declared JAP’s Aaron Cheruiyot the winner with 109,358 votes followed by Kanu’s Paul Sang with 56,307 votes.
Six days later, Kanu released its own results which showed that Sang had beaten Cheruiyot with close to 90,000 votes.
“From our audit and expert analysis, the Kanu candidate Paul Sang garnered 126,493 and Aaron Cheruiyot of JAP got 38,162. The rest of the candidates garnered a combined vote of 2,510,” said Kanu Secretary General Nick Salat.
Sang added that Jubilee used a geometric progression formula that ensured that every vote cast for the coalition’s candidate was multiplied by 1.5.
Despite their evidence, Kanu Chairman Gideon Moi said they would not be going to court as they do not have faith in the judiciary.
They claimed IEBC had acted in that manner in order to save DP Ruto from the embarrassment that would have come with the loss.
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