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Citizen Weekly

Sunday 19 April 2015

After two years in the cold Wakoli feels chill

Bifwoli Wakoli will now not contest for the seat of Senator in Bungoma county.
He said he would be returning to his Bumula constituency to recapture the seat he held for 10 years before being replaced by  Bonny Otsula in the March 2013 general elections.
Wakoli said he had changed his mind to go for the MP’s seat following demands by  constituents that he runs for the seat again since they had lost confidence in Otsula’s leadership.
“Everywhere I go including funerals and churches in Bumula people demand that I address them and they call me mheshimiwa even where Otsula is. I want to state that I will be in the race because I can’t turn down this pleasant offer,” he proclaimed.
He likened the Bumula parliamentary seat to a woman who ran away from the husband over some differences and now wants to return for a re-union and continue taking care of the children.
In 2013, Wakoli surprised many when he defected from Ford-Kenya to run against party leader Moses Wetang’ula in the senatorial by-election on Labour Party where he got 2,000 votes.
They by-election came after the High Court nullified Wetang’ula’s election in the March 4 general elections. Wetangula retained the seat after beating the petitioner Musikari Kombo and journalist David Makali.
Asked to say whether he would be running for the seat on a Labour Party ticket, the former primary school teacher said he was holding consultations with parties in the county before picking one to use as the vehicle back to parliament.
Wakoli’s return to Bumula has complicated the political equation in the area as he becomes the ninth aspirant. Others include Kuria subcounty commissioner Cornelius Wamalwa, Kuppet Bungoma branch secretary Augustine Luketelo, a United Nations official Patrick Wandabwa, Jack Wamboka, businessman Andrew Wamukoya, James Mabonga, Ellaly Nasambu and Otsula.
After the 2013 general elections, the campaigns for the seat have never stopped and the aspirants have been using funerals to tear into each other as if the elections are just about to be held.
The political temperatures have reached fever pitch with youths especially motorcycle operators chasing the politicians from one corner to another for handouts so as to cheer them when addressing mourners.

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