Water and Irrigation Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa has announced that he will be running for Nairobi governor’s seat in the 2017 general elections.
There is no further doubt he has joined the race after a section of Jubilee MPs endorsed him.
The water CS is good bait for Deputy President William Ruto and his supporters to test the waters before his own battle for presidency in 2022.
Nairobi is dominantly occupied by members of the Gikuyu community, therefore a significant number of votes, enough to determine who becomes the city’s county government boss.
Wamalwa being from the Luhya community and a former MP of Saboti constituency in Transzoia County is viewed as an outsider in the Nairobi politics.
For President Uhuru Kenyatta to prove to his Deputy William Ruto and the Kalenjin community that he will reciprocate their support in 2022, he should be willing to support an ‘outsider’ for Nairobi’s governor seat.
Should the Gikuyu community vote for Wamalwa, then it will be a good gesture for other non Mt Kenya Jubilee supporters.
Gikuyu support to Wamalwa will further debunk the’ myth’ that Mt Kenya only support one of their own. This will help lower the anticipation that Mt Kenya will betray Ruto in 2022.