Uasin Gishu governor-elect Jackson Mandago with Deputy governor-elect during celebrations in Eldoret after retaining their seats. [Photo|hivisasa.com]
Barely a fortnight to the August 8 general elections, the writings were on the wall that Uasin Gishu governor Jackson Mandago was on the blink of losing the seat to billionaire businessman Zedekiah Bundotich popularly known as Buzeki.
This was due to the fact that as at that time, the governor only enjoyed support from the Nandi Community, whom jointly with the Keiyo community made up the majority of voters in the county.
However almost all the non-Kalenjins in the county were leaning on Buzeki's side and it looked like the gubernatorial race was sealed as the tycoon had made inroads into Mandago's support base.
Uasin Gishu has 450,055 registered voters with over 180,000 believed to be the non-Kalenjins.It is at this time that a survey by Infotrak placed Buzeki ahead with 54 percent rating compared to the governor's 42 percent.
Mandago dismissed the pollster but down his heart, he knew that was the reality on the ground.
Fast forward days later and the National Super Alliance (NASA) holds a mega political rally in Eldoret town where they openly declared support for Mandago.
It seemed unusual for the opposition to support a candidate vying on their competitor's ticket and led to individuals in Buzeki's team to brand the governor as a mole.
The governor however welcomed the endorsement knowing very well that it could play a critical role in him getting a share of the non-Kelenjin votes that would propelled him to retain his seat.
It was almost impossible for Mandago to sell himself among the non-Kalenjins in the county but after the endorsement things became easier.
He managed to hold meetings with the Luo, Luhya, Kisii and other non-Kalenjins living in the county and this played to his advantage as he was declared the winner after garnering garnering 193,606 votes against Buzeki's 148,121.