KNUT MEN HIT CAMPAIGN TRAIL FOR ASSISTANT TREASURER'S CHAIR

 Anxiety has gripped Knut top official said to be interested in the position of  assistant national treasurer come the December Knut elections after Geoffrey Mogire remained mum on his resignation from NEC leaving his supporters in the dark.

The move has seen the campaigns narrowed down to a two-horse race pitting branch executive secretaries John Matiang’i (Borabu) and Sam Nyairo (Gucha) with both boasting of following from delegates from the eight branches in Kisii and Nyamira counties.

Close confidants divulged that Mogire is keen on retaining his position at NEC because he will be rendered irrelevant if he loses the seat in a bid to replace Richard Kibagendi who is retiring and happens to come from Nyamira branch. Matiang’i and Nyairo will comfortably return to their branches if they fail.

Matiang’i who is known to be a crusader on teachers’ issues and other community matters hails from Borabu while Nyairo comes from Gucha which is home to senator Chris Obure while retiring Kibagendi comes from Nyamira.

Matiang’i was said to have reached out to six out of the eight branches in the two counties thanks to his networking schemes and rivalry between Nyairo and  Mogire where the former is praying to the other to fail miserably.

Nyairo is serving his first term in office having won the seat in 2011 where he trounced Zachary Nyariki while Matiang’i is serving his second term in office having first been elected in 2006 while Mogire who has served as chairman Kisii branch had sour relationships with delegates forcing him to relocate to Kisii South branch where he lost in 2011.

Mogire who lost to Charles Mokua for the post of executive secretary Kisii South branch during the 2011 elections is being seen as a nominee to the union because he does not have a branch but has been using the NEC members to intensify his campaigns to reach out to delegates from other parts of the country.

Although he is articulate just like Matiang’i, Mogire campaigned against secretary general Wilson Sosion where he had mobilised his friends to rally behind Mudzo Nzili before the duo reached a mutual understanding to share the slots.

Nyairo has reportedly become arrogant because he enjoys the backing of Sosion with whom they were once taught at Tenwek High School where they were sharing the same house and will be assured of his full support as a comrade.

Nyairo is also connected to the executive secretary Nakuru branch a Mr Njau whom he will be relying on to solicit for votes from Rift valley region. He is also said to have reached out for the executive secretary Bomet branch Marere Lagat who was his student at Tenwek High School and is trying to use him get him votes from the region.

However, these connections have angered teachers who argue that the union is not a club of friends where people who can not articulate members’ issues can just “wake up one morning and get in the club by using the friendship ticket”.

The seat of national assistant treasurer has been a preserve for Kisii Nyanza and Eastern province hence the reason Kibagendi captured it from Fred Ontere who retired from Gucha region just like the present national treasurer Urbanus Mutisya who was assistant to Ontere and took over from Mutuku who retired.

“Kisii teachers are keen to elect a person who can articulate our issues properly and we will not be hoodwinked to support one just because he belongs to a certain club with strings attached,” said one of the members in an interview.

By the time of going to press, Matiang’i and Nyairo were said to have reached out to the neighbouring branches of Trans Mara, Bomet, Migori, Kericho  and Rachuonyo were they hosted teachers in hotels to convince them to their sides, while Mogire was yet to publicly declare whether he is in the race or not.