Residents of Kahawa Wendani Ward in Kiambu County have shocked Kenyans by nominating a man from Nyanza region on a Jubilee party ticket.
Cyrus Omondi who has previously vied on an ODM ticket and failed twice trounced his opponents and emerged victorious in the Jubilee nominations held in Kiambu County on Tuesday.
Omondi while addressing the press on Wednesday said that in 2007 he vied for the councilor position under ODM and failed, in 2013 he vied for the MCA position and still failed.
“When the Jubilee party was formed my supporters told me to join it since am a good leader and the only thing which has been contributing to my failure is the choice of party which is not popular in the area and I cannot win without being in the regions popular party,” said Omondi.
“The mindset of the youth is changing because if you look at the people who elected me they are young people and women who are in line with my moto ‘unity in diversity’ as we coexist in Kahawa Wendani which is a cosmopolitan Ward,” he explained.
Omondi said that his nomination shows that Jubilee is a national party because he is from Nyanza and he has been nominated in Central region.
“This move can cure tribalism in Kenya, when we do business we do it as Kenyans but when it comes to politics we go back to our tribal cocoons; I hope my nominations will help to eradicate tribalism,” said Omondi.
He requested the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) under the chairmanship of Francis Ole Kaparo to use the Kahawa Wendani nominations as a case study and encourage other areas to do so in efforts to end tribalism.
Omondi said that he encountered several challenges concerning his tribal background.
“I will register a concern with the party since I was labeled as a Luo candidate,” he complained adding that his interaction with the youths when he was a scouts leaders helped him learn how to deal with such difficulties.
“The old wazees could not believe that a Luo can be nominated here and they really gave me a hard time, my name was missing in the botched nominations on Friday but I thank God that was corrected,” said said.
Omondi said that Kahawa Wendani had been marked as a hot spot as many assumed that since he is a Luo his tribesmen will cause chaos by clashing with the locals and heavy GSU personnel had been deployed to the area.
“The OCPD, the GSU and the provincial administration have really commended what the people of Kahawa Wendani have done as they voted in peacefully.
He called for the support of his competitors and the residents since it is not easy to lead people who don’t support you.
Out of the 11 aspirants in Kahawa Wendani ward, Omondi managed to garner 272 votes while his closest rival-the seating MCA-came second with 191 votes with the total number of those who voted being 1, 000.
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