Outgoing Law Society of Kenya (LSK) President Nelson Havi has been warned against expecting a direct United Democratic Alliance (UDA) nomination after he joined Deputy President William Ruto’s camp.
Havi is seeking to vie for the Westlands parliamentary seat on UDA after meeting DP Ruto on Monday, November 22.
UDA aspirant, Brian Mwema, argued that he would not relinquish his dream for Havi. Mwema alleged that Havi jumped on the UDA bandwagon as a last-minute resort to amplify his popularity.
“I have been selling the UDA vision from the onset in the grassroots. I am banking on the party’s promise for free and fair nominations ahead of the 2022 General Election,” he stated and promised to consult Westlands residents and the UDA administration.
Mwema added that he is inspired by his fellow youth and promised to improve services within the constituency.
“When elected, my main focus will be upgrading markets, improving access to clean water and enabling technical skills among the youth in the community," he promised.
This, he stated, will be done through the upgrade of all markets, digitization of stalls and services, improving internet connectivity, refurbishment and construction of schools, hospitals, police posts, and other recreational facilities.
He called on UDA to stick with its early aspirants, who he claimed sacrificed a lot to push Ruto’s agenda. He argued that Havi was a former ODM Party Leader, Raila Odinga’s fanatic, who had pledged to support the former Prime Minister before.
Mwe Havi’s quote on November 3, where the LSK President stated that “I am Raila Odinga's formidable grandson. If you got to Bondo, you will be told 'huyu ni kijana ya Baba (This is Raila's son) - So no matter how much you try to pull me away from him, you will not succeed."
Havi, a vocal lawyer, stated that he was impressed by Ruto’s bottom-up economic model. The advocate of the High Court added that the approach would benefit Kenyans.
“It is that reason and having been in the ground for the last seven months that I have come to the conclusion that the best vehicle that has the heartbeat of the people is UDA. There are many similarities between Ruto and myself,” he proclaimed.
Havi and Mwema’s face-off for the UDA slot highlights one of the challenges DP Ruto faces ahead of party primaries and winning more supporters in his first stab at the Presidency.
In Kirinyaga County, Women Representative Purity Ngirici cautioned UDA against supporting the incumbent governor Anne Waiguru in her quest for reelection. Ngirici is seeking to unseat Waiguru, who recently decamped from the ruling jubilee party.
The two are seeking Ruto’s endorsement and will square it out with former Justice Minister, Martha Karua. Karua, however, was endorsed for the Deputy President position by select Mt Kenya politicians.
Nonetheless, Karua was adamant that she would seek to challenge Waiguru who beat her in 2017.
