As Ford Kenya prepares for the party nominations from the grass root to the national level, campaigns have already started in Trans Nzoia County with several leaders making known their aspirations to vie for various seats. The County chairperson seat has attracted a notable aspirant, William Nangulu who also contested for the Saboti parliamentary seat but lost to Joseph Pepela, prompting a fallout between the two. Nangulu said he was shortchanged by the Ford Kenya party leadership, and contested on an independent ticket, and still lost.
Nangulu will square off against Kwanza MP Ferdinand Wanyonyi, who is the current Ford Kenya County chairman. The two enjoy massive support among residents, and some MCAs have already made known which camp they’ll support. The two are already flexing their muscles to gain an advantage in the race, and Nangulu has disclosed that he won’t allow cheating to prevail and that some candidates were cheated during the party nominations, “My intention is to work with the party and bring sanity which has been elusive,” he said in an interview, “We can’t let the status quo prevail, since many of our supporters have been shortchanged on various seats they’ve contested. I will not allow that.”
On his part, Kwanza MP Ferdinand Wanyonyi stated he is up to the task and will focus on revamping the party in the County. On the allegations of favouritism of candidates, especially during party nominations, Wanyonyi said the party is against the vice and claimed that he won his nomination during the last election. However, the leaders pledged to support whoever will win and steer the party’s agenda forward.
Another titanic battle will be for the Secretary General of the party, contested between Tongaren MP Dr. Eseli Simiyu and Kiminini MP Dr. Chris Wamalwa. Last week, Wamalwa hosted all party officials with delegates from Trans Nzoia County who pledged to support his bid as the party’s next Secretary General. He said the party enjoys a massive following within the County, adding that since the party leader comes from Bungoma County, it’s common knowledge that the Secretary-General should come from Trans Nzoia County. “We’ve been supporting the party for a long time but we don’t have any post we can pride ourselves in,” he said.
The Kiminini MP, who has been at loggerheads with Eseli criticized the current Secretary-General’s leadership, saying the party has regressed since there isn’t any tangible development witnessed, and no efforts have been made to revamp the party.
