As the clock is ticking to the November 7 by-elections in Kibra, it appears to be a two-horse race between Macdonald Mariga of Jubilee Party and Imran Okoth of ODM.
Amidst different campaign strategies, alleged violence and voter bribery seem to be the leading tactics where ODM aims at retaining their territory while Jubilee is determined to outsmart them.
ODM Party Communications Director, Philip Etale, now claims that Deputy President William Ruto has budgetted for Ksh20 million to faciliate buying of ID cards.
In a Facebook post, Etale accused Uasin Gishu Woman Representative Gladys Shollei of being a mastermind of the elections malpractice strategies put in place by Ruto’s camp.
According to Etale, Shollei held a closed-door meeting at a Kitusuru hotel where she hinted that their boss (Ruto) is ready to spend money to ensure Jubilee wins the by-election.
The deputy president and his strategic team allegedly set aside Ksh20 million to be used in buying Identity Cards from voters, and another Ksh20 Million to be dished out in Kibra three days before the elections.
FACT & NOT FICTION.Last week, the Uasin Gishu Woman Representative in the National Assembly Hon. Gladys Boss Shollei…
Posted by Philip Etale on Monday, 28 October 2019
Efforts by the writer to seek audience with Shollei, for a right of response, were futile as calls to her went answered and text messages were unresponded to by the time of publishing the article.
ODM has vowed to take action against the rumoured election malpractices perpetuated by their opponents in Kibra as they fight tooth ad nail to retain the seat.
Apart from the ODM allegations, Amani National Congress leader Musalia Mudavadi is among those who have also accused DP Ruto of sabotaging electoral justice in the constituency.
Early October, details emerged that Ruto was hosting Kibra residents at his Karen home where they were given money to vote in favour of Mariga.
Amidst the voter bribery allegations, violence has been part and parcel of campaigns or the much-contested parliamentary seat.
Sunday campaigns turned chaotic after Mudavadi’s car was stoned by a group of rowdy youth said to have been sponsored by political rivals.
In another incident, an ODM campaign vehicle a few weeks ago ran over a man who died on the spot.
Among the 19 candidates who will take part in the race, the leading candidates are Imran Okoth (ODM), Mariga (Jubilee) and Eliud Owalo (ANC).