sent by Leo Odera Omolo
leooderaomolo@yahoo.com

  Kisumu
  28/08/07
 
A REPEAT OF THE BATTLE OF TWO BROTHERS IN ELDAMA RAVINE IS EXPECTED AGAIN.

By Kipsiele Arap Sugurut.

Unfolding political scenario is in the offing in Eldama Ravine Constituency in Koibatek district where two brothers are likely to face each other in a repeat election battle for the same parliamentary seat.

The two are the incumbent MP Musa Sirma and his step brother, a former Provincial Commissioner (PC) in the coast Mr. Timothy Sirma. They will face each other on ticket from two different political parties. It is too early to make intelligent guess work as to who will triumph over the other.

The incumbent MP has stuck with Raila Odinga’s ODM while his brother Timothy Sirma, who it is being alleged is smarting out of lack of substantial election resources, is said to be with Kalonzo Musyoka ODM - K faction.

In 2002 Timothy Sirma contested the seat on the DP ticket and the former administrator performed dismally. His younger brother Musa Sirma stood on KANU ticket and won the election with the landslide majority.

Musa Sirma, who is discredited to have allegedly vandalized the Lembus Forest in Koibatek where he had previously served for many years as a forest officer, and even went as far as allegedly incurring colossal amount of expenses for the Forest Department to the tune of Ksh 23 million, which stands unpaid to date.

The MP is also being discredited for poor disbursement of the CDF, school bursary funds and road maintenance funds. It is being alleged that he only dished out CDF financial and road construction tenders to his own brothers and a company in which he had vested interests.

It is being alleged further that Musa Sirma, who at times brags himself as the “Governor of Rift Valley”, had established a saw mill in Lembus Forest in which he is the majority shareholder. The saw mill was involved in felling trees, but the company never remitted all the money it owed to the government coffers.

Sirma won the 2002 elections in Eldama Ravine due to his then closeness to Hon. Gideon Moi and the support of the entire Moi family, though he had triumphed over Jonathan T. Moi during KANU preliminaries and eventually won the election proper on a KANU ticket.

But immediately after taking his seat in Parliament,the youthful legislator adapted the Kiswahili proverb of ‘’Ahsante ya punda ni teke’’. He threw a lot of vitriol to Moi senior, describing the retired President as a spent force who should leave the political scene in the Rift Valley to the youthful leaders.

It was in Sirma’s Eldama Ravine Constituency where the 14 MP from the Kalenjin community converged and made a far reaching declaration in a resolution which endorsed the Eldoret North KANU MP William Ruto’s presidential candidature on ODM - K ticket.

This move, however, was seen by political pundits and observers of Kalenjin politics as a slap in the face of ex-president Daniel Arap Moi. Sirma thereafter led a team of crusaders against the Moi family in the North Rift.

Jonathan Moi has also declared his intention of running for the election in the same constituency on a KANU ticket, but observers were quick in pointing out that the eldest son of the retired President Moi stand very little chance of clinching the seat due to some stigma related to Kalenjin culture and tradition.

Jonathan’s late mother Mrs Lena Moi is a daughter of the dominant Lembus sub clan, which holds the key to the voting pattern in the constituency. The clan therefore cannot pass the instrument of leadership to a son of their daughter.

According to Kalenjin custom, a son of the daughter is not allowed to lead his uncles no matter how mightier he is politically. It will therefore take him an up hill task to convince his uncles, the Lembus, which forms the bulk of the voters in the area.

Jonathan Moi pockets are said to be loaded with millions, and the civic leaders and youths who mill around are only there to tap his fat money. By the end of October, he will find himself to be the loneliest candidate in Eldama Ravine.

Reports emerging from Koibatek indicated that the retired former Kenya Navy soldier Major (rtd) Wison Koitaba is the most favourite candidate. He is the secretary of the powerful Lembus Council of elders. He enjoys a lot of political goodwill of the clan and all of those non- Kalenjin residents.

When Raila Odinga visited Eldama Ravine last month, he was told to his face to speak for himself, but not to mention the name of Musa Sirma. Agwambo is reported to have obliged and went on canvassing for his own presidential votes from the residents without trying to market Sirma who had glued himself on his side like a tick.

There are six other aspirants, but most of them posses no serious challenge to Musa Sirma. .

The real election pattern however will be focused on Koitaba, two Sirma and Jonathan Moi.

Ends.