Political temperatures are rising in Nyamira County as the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) and the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) intensify campaigns ahead of the highly contested Ekerenyo, Nyamaiya, and Nyansiongo ward by-elections.
What began as routine campaigns has now turned into a fierce political duel pitting local heavyweights and allies of President William Ruto against those loyal to former Interior CS Dr. Fred Matiang’i.
During a UDA rally in Ekerenyo Ward, North Mugirango MP Joash Nyamoko made a passionate appeal to residents to rally behind Mzee Amenya, the UDA candidate, citing his long struggle and sacrifice in pursuit of the MCA seat.
“This Mzee Amenya has sold everything he owned over the 20 years he has been contesting. Let’s support him. He has nothing left,” Nyamoko told supporters during the campaign.
However, the statement quickly sparked a political storm after Kitutu Chache South MP Anthony Kibagendi, a close ally of Dr. Matiang’i, responded sharply through a Facebook post.
“Someone tell my senior Hon. Joash Nyamoko, with lots of respect, that while we sympathize with our brother Mzee Amenya, he got into the wrong party. He had numerous options but chose UDA. There will be no sympathy on election day,” Kibagendi wrote.
He went further to accuse UDA of using emotional appeals rather than addressing real issues affecting the people of Ekerenyo.
“My suggestion to Hon. Nyamoko is that an MCA’s salary for the remaining period before the next general election is a fraction of the KSh 15 million you people have already spent in this campaign. The next batch of KSh 2 million coming this weekend from State House for the Ekerenyo campaigns—please just hand it over to Mzee Amenya to start some business,” Kibagendi added.
He also mocked the ruling party’s confidence, saying, “Unleashing this sympathy-seeking card at this time, after all the chest-thumping by UDA, is not something the Ekerenyo people will want to listen to. Mpatieni pesa hizo mnasema mtanunua watu aanze biashara. Nchera ende teiyo!”
The remarks have amplified political divisions between UDA and UPA camps in Nyamira, with both sides trading barbs as they seek to prove their regional dominance.
Political analysts say the Ekerenyo, Nyamaiya, and Nyansiongo by-elections will serve as a litmus test for UDA’s influence in the Gusii region, an area that has remained largely unpredictable since the 2022 General Election.
As the campaigns enter the final stretch, observers note that the outcome could reshape political alliances in Nyamira and set the tone for the 2027 polls