Edith Nyenze wins Wiper nominations for Kitui West by-election

Edith Vethi Nyenze, the widow of the late Kitui West MP Francis Nyenze, on Tuesday won the Wiper Party nominations for the Kitui West by-election set to be held on March 26, 2018.

Mrs. Nyenze garnered 13,388 votes beating her rival Maluki Mwendwa, son of former minister Nyiva Mwendwa, who garnered 2,663 votes.

Mrs. Nyenze thanked her supporters for the landslide victory, and asked them to turn out in large numbers and vote for her on the election day.

She further extended an olive branch to her competitor saying time had come for the two leaders to vouch a common course of championing the Wiper Party agenda.

Mrs. Nyenze is now set to face eight other competitors from different parties in the March 26, by-election.

Having clinched the Wiper ticket, Mrs. Nyenze is considered to be at a vantage point of succeeding her husband as the Kalonzo Musyoka-led party is the most popular in the region.

During the launch of her campaigns, Mrs. Nyenze, who is a former high school principal and retired last year from the Retirement Benefits Authority, said she is best fit to lead Kitui West since she was working as deputy to his husband while he was an MP.

The Wiper nominations for the Kitui West by-election presented a dilemma for Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka since the two leading candidates seeking his party ticket are his bosom friends.

Mr. Nyenze was the Minority leader in the last parliament having been nominated to the plum position by Mr. Musyoka, while Maluki’s family has a long standing relationship with the former Vice President dating as back as 1980s.

The Kitui West seat fell vacant following the death of former MP Francis Nyenze, who died in December 2017 after a 10-year battle with Colon  Cancer.