Nandi County Senator Samson Cherargei on Saturday, November 23, took to social media to comment on his Busia counterpart Okiya Omtatah’s prospective Presidential bid.
In his statement, Cherargei congratulated his senate colleague on the move but quickly pivoted to providing advice on the same.
“To my brother and colleague Senator Okiya Omtatah, while I wish you well in your Presidential bid, there are few things you need to be aware of,” Cherargei stated.
“To run a successful presidential campaign you need a minimum of Ksh7 billion; a voting bloc that’s established; grassroots network that isn’t even aware of social media existence or hype.”
Further proceeding with the same rhetoric, Cherargei reiterated President Ruto’s win in 2022 against Raila Odinga despite the government support for the latter and termed his aspirations a ‘tall order.’
“To vie against H.E William Ruto is a tall order who outwitted and outsmarted the government candidate Raila Odinga in the 2022 General Election,” he explained.
The statement came just a few hours after Omtatah appointed a 10-member presidential exploratory committee for his potential aspiration to vie for the top office in the 2027 General Election.
"We are at a pivotal moment in our nation's history, and the call to serve has never been more urgent. I am committed to listening, learning, and building a platform that reflects the values and priorities of our citizens,” Omtatah stated when naming the committee.
Among notable Kenyans he appointed is fellow activist Hanifa Adan who will serve as the Public Relations and Media Consultant for the Committee.
Mary Kathomi Riungu will chair the committee whose main aim is to explore the Senator’s viability as a Presidential candidate.
Other members of the committee are; David John Bwakali, Victor Kipng’etich, Jude Ogulla, Puriy Ndambuki, Emmanuel Baraka, Kevin Migwe Kimwatu, and Engineer Julius Okara who will all serve in different capacities.
Okiya Omtatah is not only the Busia Senator but also a fervent constitutional rights activist who has on several occasions used his influence to file major petitions against government projects.
Among these petitions he has filed are; housing levy, the Finance Bill 2023, and most recently, he filed a petition against the Social Health Insurance Find (SHIF) rollout.
As one of the biggest government critics, Omtatah has received a lot of backing for his bid, especially on social media but several others, including the Nandi Senator, have expressed skepticism about the move.
