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Chaos mar mayoral elections
February 26, 2008
EA STANDARD
By Standard Team
Nairobi lived up to its ignominious reputation when city
councillors held a largely chaotic mayoral poll whose disputed
results were referred to the Local Government minister for further
direction.
Besides Nairobi, there was another stand-off in Nakuru where civic
leaders engaged in brawls, forcing a postponement of the elections.
This means that the capital city and Nakuru will remain without
mayors until Mr Uhuru Kenyatta intervenes and sets fresh dates for
elections.#
The Nairobi elections were characterised by heckling between Party
of National Unity (PNU) and Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) civic
leaders and spiced with accusations of betrayal and corruption.
The chaos inside City Hall was echoed along City Hall Way when
supporters of Adopt-A-Light entrepreneur, Ms Esther Passaris, were
teargassed by police.
The demonstrators were protesting against Uhuru’s decision to deny
Passaris a nomination slot and subsequently blocking her from the
mayoral race that she was tipped to win.
As though reading from the same script with their Nairobi
counterparts, Nakuru councillors took their drama a notch higher
when they engaged in physical brawls that left several of them
nursing injuries.
But elsewhere, ODM was smiling across the provinces when it won
the mayoral seats in all the main towns in Coast, Nyanza, Rift
Valley and Western.
Outside Central and Eastern — which was dominated by ODM-Kenya
mayors — PNU only managed to capture mayoral seats in Kisii and
Webuye.
Back in Nairobi, chaos started long before the voting exercise
started as the new councillors went through the swearing-in
motions.
When round one of the balloting exercise failed to produce a clear
winner between ODM’s candidate Mr Godfrey Majiwa (who garnered 42
votes) and PNU’s Mr Njoroge Chege’s (also 42), there was a
near-comical proposal to break the tie by "casting a lot".
Under mayoral elections, the contenders do not normally vote. The
87th vote was open following the disqualification of Ms Esther
Passaris as nominated mayor by Uhuru.
But the PNU leaders quickly retreated to a city hotel to
re-strategise, only to emerge at City Hall two hours later.
When the PNU team walked out, the Presiding Officer Ms Helen
Katangi ruled that they had boycotted the elections and announced
Majiwa the winner.
On making their way back to the voting hall, PNU protested at the
ruling and demanded a second round of voting, but City Council
Legal Officer Mrs Mary Ngethe stepped in to advise that the
dispute could only be sorted out by the minister who would give
directions on the way forward.
Smooth ride for ODM
In Mombasa, businessman Mr Ahmed Abubakar Mondhar, who was backed
by Kisauni MP Hassan Ali Joho, beat Mvita MP Najib Balala’s cousin
Tawfiq Salim Balala to become the new mayor in another peaceful
but intensely contested election. Mondhar got 22 votes against
Balala’s 20.
The camp allied to Mondhar took all the positions in council
committees.
In Kisumu, the 22 councilors took less than three minutes to give
the city its 21st mayor, Mombasa businessman Mr Sam Onyango Okello,
who was elected unopposed in peaceful elections held under tight
security following disruption threats by a group of youths unhappy
with the list of nominated councillors.
From Eldoret, Mr Sammy Ruto of ODM was picked as the new mayor
after trouncing his female rival, Ms Ursula Ngeny, by seven votes
against four.
The party also swept all committee seats.
During the chaos in Nakuru, councillors Rose Lai (Shauri Yako
Ward) and her Kivumbini counterpart Risper Auma sustained injuries
in the brawl at the Municipal Council Chambers.
The flare-up forced the Town Clerk, Mr Albert Leina, to briefly
adjourn the full council meeting to allow ODM and PNU councillors
to consult.
Led by Mr David Gikaria, PNU councillors had claimed that the
meeting to elect the mayor had been illegally convened.
They claimed that Leina had retired from the Ministry of Local
Government on December 31, 2007 and was therefore not legible to
conduct the elections.
"We are in possession of a letter written on December 31
indicating that the clerk had resigned from civil service,"
claimed Gikaria.
But ODM councillors who were the majority said the meeting was
summoned by Minister Uhuru and was therefore legally convened.
As the councilors engaged in a heated argument, the PNU
councillors assaulted their ODM colleagues.
A commotion ensued, forcing the police to empty the public gallery
that was packed with a rowdy mob.
In Nyeri Town, area MP Ms Esther Murugi had to be escorted out of
the Town Hall by her aides after witnessing the election of Mr
Joseph Wanyaga Thairu as mayor.
Hundreds of people who had turned up at Town Hall to witness the
elections besieged Murugi as she left the hall and pelted her
convoy with stones.
The angry mob accused the MP of influencing the election of Thairu,
contrary to their wishes.
And in Western Province, ODM scooped nearly all the mayoral seats
in the region.
In Kakamega, the battle was mainly between ODM factions, with
candidates from New Ford Kenya, Ford Kenya and Alliance for
Restoration for Democracy in Kenya having minimal supporters.
In Kakamega, ODM’s Mr Joseph Serenge was elected mayor after
garnering eight votes against Mr Peter Lutta’s four.
In Bungoma, ODM’s Mr Majimbo Okumu was elected unopposed as mayor,
while Ms Edith Shitandi won the deputy mayoral seat.
In Butere Mumias, ODM’s Mr Mondekai Nandwa was elected chairman
after defeating Mr Michael Keya by 19 to 15 votes. Mr Joshua
Sambula was unopposed as the vice-chairman.
ODM also won the mayoral seats in the towns of Kabarnet (Mr Julius
Kiprop), Bomet (Mr Leonard Kipkemoi), Garrisa (Mr Mohammed Yusuf),
Kericho (Mr Moses Limo) and Busia (Mr Charles Oduor).
In the Mount Kenya region, PNU won all the seats including
Karatina, Meru, Embu, Murang’a, Kiambu, Nanyuki, Naivasha and
Kerugoya Kutus.
ODM-Kenya took control of local authorities in Ukambani by
scooping virtually all the mayoral seats and council chairmanships.
In Makueni County Council, Mr Bernard Musau emerged winner, while
Mr Raphael Muli Matia won in Wote.
In Mtito Andei, Mr Kyalo was elected the new council boss.
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