Cherargei hosts delegations over possible governor run

Nandi Senator Samson Cherargei is consulting residents on the possibility of running for governor against county boss Stephen Sang and others.

He has been hosting delegations of youth, women, opinion leaders and professionals at his Mosoriot home to discuss the elections and supporting DP William Ruto’s presidential bid.

The outspoken senator, who is a close ally of the DP, has been a harsh critic of Governor Sang. He has also been recognised as one of the best-performing senators in terms of oversight and legislation.

He is widely expected to challenge Sang next year. When contacted, he declined to comment.

“By the end of January, we will have a message to give out on our plans," Cherargei said.

Should he join the governor's race, Cherargei will offer tough competition against Sang and the other aspirants.

His key selling points include outstanding performance and the fact that he comes from Nandi North, which has the majority of votes.

He is also credited with actively backing the new revenue-sharing formula that enabled Nandi county to get an extra Sh1.6 billion allocation.

Community leader Jackson Kiprotich said Cherargei has served well as senator and his performance will give him a head start should he decide to join the governor's race.

“He has always kept the county government on its toes and delegations have been urging him to consider the governor's race," Kiprotich said.

Others in the race for governor include immediate former Governor Cleophas Lagat, lawyer Allan Kosgey, a son of former powerful minister Henry Kosgey, and finance expert Antipas Tirop who has also been actively campaigning.

Nandi county assembly speaker Joshua Kiptoo has confirmed he will run for governor.

“We will soon come out to talk to the people of Nandi about the elections as the time comes," Lagat said. His popularity has been on an upward trend, political analysts have said.

Should Cherargei decide to defend his Senate seat, then he will battle Emgwen MP Alex Kosgey, who is also a brother to Allan. Alex is running for Senate after serving two terms as MP.

Analysts say the move by the two Kosgey siblings to run for the two top county seats could be counter-productive. Some residents say it may be impossible to elect brothers and expect one to oversight the other.

All aspirants are competing for the UDA ticket.

(Edited by v. Graham)