The Baringo gubernatorial race which initially attracted more than ten aspirants will now be a three horse race; two independent candidates and first governor Benjamin Cheboi of UDA party.
The incumbent Stanley Kiptis who lost during the UDA party primaries acting on the spirit of “Never Say Die” opted to challenge the will of the voters by contesting as an independent candidate and picked a new running mate CPA Richard Koech after dumping the current deputy Jacob Chepkwony.
Koech who decamped from UDA then to CCM only to withdraw before the April party primaries was the immediate former Clerk to Baringo County Assembly.
A three-term Eldama Ravine MP Moses Lessonet who is also another UDA loser was cleared to contest as an independent candidate with running mate being Isaac Chebon who vied for governorship in 2017 on a Kanu party ticket and emerged second.
Before joining politics, Chebon was a long serving director of Kenya School of Government (KSG), Kabarnet campus.
Others who participated and swept away during the hotly contested UDA party nominations included former Wildlife PS Prof Fred Segor and CPA Robert Chelagat who was immediate former County Executive Committee (CEC) in Elgeiyo Marakwet County.
Meanwhile, Cheboi who previously served as CEO for Higher Education Loans Board was the third and last candidate to be cleared by IEBC during an exercise conducted on a Saturday afternoon at Kabarnet Rehabilitation and Vocational Training Centre which is the county tallying centre.
The ceremony was full of song and dance as his supporters jubilantly marched along the streets of Kabarnet town where their candidate made several stopovers to address the public as he displayed his IEBC clearance certificate.
County’s former First Lady Dr Emmy Chesire, Baringo county Assembly Majority Chief Whip Reuben Chepsongol and host of other leaders showered praises to Cheboi saying his comeback will give the county another new lease of life given that most of the development projects he initiated stalled under the current regime.
Cheboi accused his opponents for spreading hate messages and rumours insinuating that his leadership will undermine small-scale traders like boda boda operators by introducing daily levies saying when elected his government will be accommodative to everybody.
Cheboi pledged to expand irrigation farming so as to promote sustainable agricultural production which will be a great boost to food security in the county which is largely arid and semi-arid region that is unfavourable to rain fed agriculture.
He also said his first priority on development matters will be to ensure that all the stalled flagship projects he initiated as the first governor were completed before embarking on new ones.
Cheboi also promised to intervene by engaging all stakeholders in both county and national governments to ensure that phase two of the multimillion Kirandich Dam water project was completed to ensure constant and reliable water supply in Kabarnet town, the county headquarters.
