Jubilee Party candidate for the Kibra parliamentary race MacDonald Mariga is likely to face off with his former coach Peter Ochieng' Orero in the November 1 contest.
Emerging details indicate that before shooting to stardom, Orero coached Mariga at the Kamukunji High School where Orero was a teacher and has also been mentoring him.
This Orero revealed on Thursday, as he prepares to participate in the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) nominations on Saturday, after which he could face Mariga.
“He’s a footballer. I was his football coach. I am the one who mentored Mariga up to where he is,” he said, describing him a a humble man who might have been pushed into politics.
About the Saturday contest, the former teacher on Thursday denied being ODM party leader Raila Odinga's preferred candidate, adding that he has never engaged him on the matter at all.
He claimed that if there are such allegations on the ground, then it must be emanating from Kibra residents whom he has been working with for the 30 years of his teaching profession.
“The preference must be coming from the people. It is not about Raila. We have not talked with Raila on this at any given moment. I have so far campaigned a lot on the ground and inculcated in peoples’ mind that my manifesto will resonate well with their aspirations,” he added.
While expressing confidence in winning the race, he revealed that he was very close to former MP the late Ken Okoth, adding that his death really shocked him.