Kibra battles: Ruto accuses Raila for reinforcement calls.

by Enock Bett · November 4, 2019

Kibra Politics, Nairobi, November 4, 2019.

Deputy President William Ruto has ridiculed ODM Leader Raila Odinga for calling for reinforcement to woo voters ahead of the Kibra Constituency by-election on 7^th November. ODM, a party that has been ruling Kibra for years, even terming it as its leader’s bedroom is facing off with Jubilee Party in a tough attempt to reclaim its parliamentary control.

Football star Macdonald Mariga vying for the seat with a Jubilee Party ticket, and Imran Okoth, the late Ken Okoth’s brother with an ODM ticket will meet on the ballot this Thursday alongside other 19 candidates which includes Amani National Congress’ Eliud Owalo. The whole of last week, politicians organized sets of last-minute rallies to drum support for their respective candidates. But the race has turned to a supremacy battle between the Deputy President and ODM leader Raila Odinga.

William Ruto, who is drumming support for Jubilee Party’s Mariga, apart from open Kibra rallies, has been hosting separate meetings and campaigns at his Karen home to mobilize huge numbers to take over Kibra. Raila on the other hand, invited Governors Charity Ngilu of Kitui, Ann Waiguru, Kirinyaga, Alfred Mutua and Kivutha Kibwana of Machakos and Makueni respectively, to campaign for his party’s Imran Okoth, all pleading with the constituents not to embarrass Baba in his ‘home ground’, a move that has been termed as a reinforcement calling by his opponents.

Social media too has been abuzz with activities, from sponsored hashtags to abusive tweets, posts and comments all over. William Ruto in 2017 managed to dethrone ODM of its Langata Parliamentary seat when he successfully campaigned for Nixon Korir, who is now the current Member of Parliament, a constituency Raila held for years when he was an MP. Whether Raila will be able to reclaim the glory will be something interesting to watch. Kibra MP Ken Okoth passed away on July 26, this year at Nairobi Hospital after a long battle with cancer.