Governor Johnson Sakaja is ready to do battle on Friday in the UDA party elections in Nairobi county.
His ‘real’ opponent is Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.
The governor will face seasoned grassroots mobiliser Embakasi North MP James Gakuya, who is backed by Gachagua.
Sakaja, aiming for the influential UDA county post, has dared the Gachagua ally to face a gruelling battle.
About 1,700 delegates from all the 85 wards in Nairobi will take part in constituency elections to pick UDA grassroots officials in the high-stakes polls.
Sakaja is considered the man to beat and he is pulling out all the stops to ensure his own line-up of constituency aspirants sails through.
The Nairobi county branch elections are likely to be held in June. The winners on Friday will have a head start.
The governor enjoys the benefit of party grassroots networks across the county. A Sakaja win will give UDA a solid footing in the capital city.
The governor's camp has drawn up a list of formidable aspirants, significantly hurting Gakuya's chances to have own his allies elected.
Sakaja's list is a galaxy of former ward and constituency aspirants, sitting MPs and influential figures who lost the 2022 UDA nominations or elections.
Across the 17 constituencies, it will be a litmus test for Gachagua's key allies seeking to secure seats to face off with Sakaja at the county level.
Sakaja on Wednesday emerged with political firepower, hitting out at his perceived critics, including Gachagua, as he assembled Nairobi county UDA troops to support his team.
He called Gachagua a “bully” and told him to run for the Nairobi governor’s seat in 2027.
“I have been through a lot, and I’m not easily intimidated. Nobody has the right to say I was given the seat. I was elected. In 2027, you are free to run for any elective post. Run and be Nairobi governor,” Sakaja said at Bomas of Kenya.
Gachagua had last year said Mt Kenya leaders have a stake in the running of the city county’s affairs, since their votes handed the seat to the governor.
Accusing Gachagua of disrespecting other elected leaders, Sakaja told the DP to stop playing the victim after undermining other leaders for a long time.
“You can’t be bullying people for two years and when you are only mentioned for just one week, you start crying. Bullies are the biggest cowards. You even went to the forest; I don’t know where. If you want respect, respect other leaders. If you don’t respect those leaders, then respect the people who put them there,” Sakaja said.
Sakaja told UDA delegates from the 85 wards that his bid for the Nairobi chairmanship post is based on his desire to grow the party.
"I am not looking for this position to get a job. Even after the elections, I will still be governor. I am here to build the party," Sakaja declared at the Bomas of Kenya.
The governor emphasised UDA members have an opportunity to elect leaders who are passionate about the party agenda and ready to make sacrifices to grow the outfit ahead of the 2027 polls.
In politics, you keep on learning, so I’m using my experience so in 2027 we get the President, Senator, Governor, MPs and MCAs. That is why I presented myself to run for the chairman of UDA in Nairobi.”
In a show of powerful and meticulous planning ahead of the county elections, Sakaja mobilised most UDA officials recently elected during the ward polls.
"Nairobi county has to stay united. We will unapologetically do that and ensure the city is one of order, dignity, hope and opportunity," Sakaja said. Delegates backed his bid.
Sakaja had more than 1,500 delegates at the Bomas and they pledged to support his bid.
He is leveraging his experience as the former national chairman of the now-defunct National Alliance (TNA) party to build a solid UDA structure to fend off the opposition ahead of 2027.
There have been concerns in UDA that the party’s performance in Nairobi during the 2022 polls, was hurt by the influence of strong Azimio structures.
At that time, Opposition leader Raila Odinga’s Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition was controlling Nairobi under Sakaja’s predecessor Anne Kananu.
Analysts say parties with governors at the helm of counties tend to perform well in general elections because of the leaders’ strong influence.
“The UDA performance in 2027 based on the number of seats it will capture, shall depend on who are the county leaders and how they work to build the party from the grassroots and prop up formidable aspirants,” political analyst Alexander Nyamboga said.
The analyst said that in the 2022 polls, Azimio benefited from the support of the former Jubilee administration and Kananu to win a majority of the MP and MCA seats in Nairobi.
“Governor Sakaja is working under an assembly with the opposition in the majority and his UDA party in the minority That has forced him to forge alliances, including working with ODM legislators to push his policies and agenda,” Nyamboga said.
Sakaja’s plan to relocate matatus from the Nairobi CBD encountered headwinds in 2022 with Gachagua leading Mt Kenya leaders and traders in opposing the move.
However, Gakuya faces an uphill task to galvanise support from a majority of the officials from all wards to successfully take on Sakaja’s political and financial war chests.
Gakuya also faces another mountain to climb as he must first be elected as a constituency official in his Embakasi North Constituency in the elections on Friday.
As governor, Sakaja is automatically on the list of delegates who will elect UDA county leaders.
The UDA election rules require that those seeking positions at the county level must first win constituency elections to get tickets to battle it out at the county branch level.
Nairobi is among the five other counties in which UDA will conduct constituency elections on Friday, including Narok, Busia, Homa Bay and West Pokot.
Besides Nairobi, Narok is another county where stakes are high. Narok West MP Gabriel Tongoyo will face Governor Patrick Ntutu for the county chairmanship.
However, Tongoyo, who is the chairperson of the National Assembly’s Security Committee, must first win at his constituency before he can qualify to face Ntutu.
In the same county, MPs Ken Aramat (Narok East) and Johanna Ng’eno (Emurr Dikkir) are battling for the county secretary-general position.
For them to qualify to contest the county level position, they must first win elections in their constituencies.
In West Pokot, Kapenguria MP Samuel Moroto will face Jackson Rotino and Mzelondo Plimo for the UDA county secretary-general position if the three succeed in constituency polls.
Governor Simon Kachapin will face Senator Julius Murgor for the county UDA chairmanship seat.
Those eligible to vote are elected ward officials from the ward election conducted on May 18 in the five counties, and nominated and elected members of Parliament.
There are 20 positions at the constituency level, including the chairperson, deputy chairperson, secretary and deputy secretary, treasurer, organising secretary, representative of youth, representative of women and representative of people with disabilities.
Others are representatives of MSMEs, representative of farmers, representative of religious groups, representative of professionals and seven members comprising at least three of the opposite gender.
The 20 officials from each constituency in a county plus governors, deputy governors, senators and woman representatives will form the county congress and elect 20 county officials amongst themselves.
All the 20 county officials and seven officials at the constituency level, including the chairperson, deputy chairperson, secretary, deputy secretary, treasurer, organising secretary and a youth representative, constitute delegates to the UDA National Delegates Congress.