The race for the Council of Governors (CoG) chairperson seat has narrowed to Ms Anne Waiguru (Kirinyaga), Mr Joseph Ole Lenku (Kajiado), and Mr Abdullahi Ahmed (Wajir).
The elections will take place on Saturday, following a three-day induction for newly elected county bosses and their deputies that begins today in Mombasa.
The county chiefs will also choose their vice-chairperson, council whip, and committee chairs.
Kenya Kwanza and Azimio la Umoja have the same number of governors in the CoG, with 23 each.
Andrew Mwadime of Taita-Taveta, elected as an independent governor, has been noncommittal on which side he supports, whereas Kawira Mwangaza of Meru has already sided with Kenya Kwanza.
Governors affiliated with Kenya Kwanza who had expressed interest in the position are said to have settled on Ms Waiguru to avoid a divisive election.
Ms Waiguru hopes to secure the position by leveraging her experience as a Devolution Cabinet Secretary and her network in national government circles.
She was previously the vice-chairperson of the council. She refused to comment on the elections yesterday.
Mr. Lenku’s supporters within the CoG argue that it is time for a pastoralist’s voice in the council, pointing out that the majority of chairpersons are from agricultural zones.
Yesterday, Mr Lenku exuded confidence in winning the seat.
“We are good to go. We are in the race and we shall respect the decision of my colleagues. We want to have a governors’ candidate, not a certain coalition’s candidate.
“We have been rotating the position without considering political loyalties because we are very diverse,” he said.
Tharaka-Nithi Governor Muthomi Njuki, who was also vying for the position, is said to have settled for the influential Health Committee chairperson.
Mr Ahmed, who was a pioneer county boss in 2013 and made a comeback in this year’s elections, says he will use his experience as the former chairperson of the Finance, Planning, and Economic Affairs Committee to advocate for county interests.
