Clans rear ugly head again in Nyamira governor race – Weekly Citizen

As the political succession of Nyamira county gubernatorial race continues and campaigns hot up, members of Bogetutu clan have gone back to the drawing board to find out why they have lost the seat in two consecutive elections and scheme on how to win the seat which has been going to Bogirango clan.

In Nyamira county, the race for the seat of the governor is always majorly a battle between the Abagirango and the Abagetutu clans.

The governor John Nyagarama who is serving his second term comes from the Bogirango clan. His leadership has been surrounded with a number of challenges namely corruption, nepotism and divisive politics.

Bosire

The Abagetutu clan, it is said, should blame itself for losing the seat twice because they field many candidates and above all they take much of their time preaching divisive, hate politics and undermining one another instead of putting their heads together on how to win the seat.

It is for this that the Abagetutu have decided to go back to the drawing board with the view to nominate one person who could face a person from the Bogirango clan for the 2022 gubernatorial race contest.

Currently there are four aspirants from Bogetutu clan who have declared their candidature for the gubernatorial race who could be vetted for the top seat in the county. Among the four, three are not new in politics as they have served as members of parliament in Kitutu Masaba constituency while the fourth one is a new entrant in politics.

The four aspirants to be vetted by the people of Bogetutu clan are Mwancha Okioma, Walter Nyambati, Timothy Bosire and Gibson Misente. Okioma and Nyambati contested for the seat of the governor in the last general elections but lost to Nyagarama after dividing and splitting their home votes, mistakes the clan want stopped this time round.

The residents who talked to this writer have expressed their fear that should the clan fail to settle on one formidable aspirant, then chances of losing the seat are high. Political analyst Samwel Ogero from Bogetutu said that they could go for a man who is development conscious, sober and above all one who has the ability of uniting the clan and the county at large.

Okioma who hails from the Botabori clan served as an MP for Kitutu Masaba constituency between 2002-2007 but was bundled out by Nyambati who hails from the Bonyagesimo subclan.

He contested for the seat of the governor in the last general elections but lost to Nyagarama. When he served as a member of parliament, great things were underscored in the health, education, roads, bridges and bursary sectors which puts him ahead of his political rivals. If there is anything to go by in terms of development record, then he stands tall when it comes to who should be nominated as a representative from the Bogetutu clan he could stand to benefit.

His Botabori clan in its tyranny of numbers and unity when it comes to voting gives him a headstart compared to his political competitors.

Okioma

Nyambati who came second to Nyagarama in the last general elections can not be ignored when it comes to carrying the Bogetutu clan political mantle for the position of the governor’s seat. His major challenge currently is financial handicap a factor that limited tours in the constituency and the county at large. When he served as the area MP, most of those he appointed to the CDF committee let his leadership down by stealing funds from the kitty which they used to diversify their economic empires .

“Those who worked as CDF committee members under the watch of Nyambati are richer than Nyambati himself courtesy of the funds stolen. Nyambati never took any action against them despite information being brought to his attention,” a confident of Nyambati confided to this writer. It is rumoured that should Nyambati be given a chance of being Nyamira county governor, the same looting spree may occur again.

Nyambati is however credited for the creation more administration units when he served as the area member of parliament. In terms of development, he has no specific projects he can display or point out, which he initiated during his tenure as the area MP.

His health is another factor which may deny him an opportunity to be picked for the race of the governorship position. Bosire who is the immediate former Kitutu Masaba MP is credited for disbursing CDF funds transparently. During his tenure as the MP, he failed to address the challenges facing the tea sectors, infrastructure and health. Bosire who is the ODM national treasurer has to change his political arrogance and be a team player if he has to be considered as a flagbearer from the Bogetutu clan .

Misente who is a new entrant has only declared that he could contest for the seat of the governor come the next general elections.

Investigations carried by this writer revealed that modalities were being worked out on how the nominations was going to be carried so as to come up with one nominee who is formidable and credible.

Another source revealed that every aspirants should first be accepted by at least three quarters of his subclan before being considered for a clan nominee position.