With 131 days remaining to General Elections, five governors who are finishing their second term have launched their bid for senatorial seats.
Even though the constitution is silent on the validity of second-term governors contesting for senatorial seats, some are finding the Senate a soft landing spot after the end of their constitutionally-allowed 2-terms.
Kivumbi.co.ke looks at the five-second term governors who have already declared their interest to contest for senate seats in their respective counties.
Kivutha Kibwana
The outgoing Makueni county boss has declared that he will be running for the County’s senatorial seat in the August 9 General Election saying it was pressure from the Makueni residents.
“People have asked me to vie for the Senate and I have said ‘it is okay, I will go for it. It is a seat that fits me as well,” said Kibwana when announcing his candidature.
Kibwana is expected to vie using his Muungano Party, which has joined the Azimio la Umoja movement led by President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM leader Raila Odinga.
Jackson Mandago
The Uasin Gishu governor who is a close ally of Deputy President William Ruto has also announced his bid for the senatorial seat on the platform that he understands the sufferings of devolved units.
The second-term governor is expected to face stiff competition for the UDA nomination from outspoken Kapseret MP Oscar Sudi.
Alex Tolgos
Governor Tolgos of Elgeyo Marakwet is one of the few Rift Valley governors supporting the Azimio la Umoja presidential candidate Raila Odinga.
Tolgos, who has served two terms as Governor, plans to run for the Elgeyo Marakwet Senate seat where he will face off with the current senator, Kipchumba Murkomen who is a close associate of DP Ruto.
Martin Wambora
The Chair of the Council of Governors is the latest retiring governor to declare interest in the senatorial seat.
Wambora who has been under pressure in the last few years surviving multiple impeachment attempts recently decamped to the Kenya Kwanza alliance led by DP Ruto.
Samuel Tunai
Tunai who won the 2017 elections on a Jubilee ticket, recently decamped to United Democratic Alliance led by DP Ruto.
In a negotiated deal, Tunai opted to run for senate while supporting former Labour Chief Administrative Secretary to succeed him as the next governor of Narok.
Petition to bar governors from vying for senate seats filed.
Apart from the five governors, it is widely expected that some retiring governors might also try their luck at the senate.
But as the governors’ angle for the senatorial seat in a bid to stay within political power, already a petition seeking to bar them from vying for Senate and National Assembly seats in the August 9 polls has been filed at the Constitutional Court in Mombasa.
According to Caroline Chilango, who filed the petition last month, if former governors are elected senators they will interfere with the Senate’s oversight role over the county governments
“It may paralyze the affairs of the said assemblies as they may end up being asked to do oversight on their expenditures which they were governors in their respective counties,” states the petition.
