By Dr Philip Zeal Chebunet, PhD, CPM
Maturity in leadership means understanding the occasion you are celebrating. And maturity means understanding who owns that occasion.
Mashujaa Day is co-hosted by three counties, not one PS
This is not Uasin Gishu Day. This is Mashujaa Day — a national day that is being co-hosted by three counties: Uasin Gishu as host, plus Elgeyo Marakwet and Nandi as co-hosts.
That means three Governors are official co-hosts: Governor Jonathan Bii (Uasin Gishu), Governor Wisley Rotich (Elgeyo Marakwet), and Governor Stephen Sang (Nandi).
Maturity would have been simple: One billboard, three Governors together welcoming the President to the North Rift. That would have shown unity. That would have shown respect. That would have shown that the North Rift is one.
Instead, what do we have? One PS flooding one county with his own face, as if the other two counties do not exist, as if the other two Governors do not exist, as if Mashujaa Day belongs to one person.
If anyone was to put up billboards, it should have been the three Governors on one billboard, led by the host Governor Jonathan Bii — not a PS in three counties’ business. That is the definition of political immaturity.
Mashujaa Day host governor should be putting up billboards, not a PS
Protocol is clear. When the President comes to a county, the host is the County Government. The person who should be putting billboards — if any — is Governor Bii.
But Governor Bii chose maturity. He did not print his face. He chose to clean Eldoret City, prepare 64 Stadium, fix roads, and let the President come home in peace. He understood that Mashujaa Day is not a campaign launch. It is a national day for heroes.
Bitok did the opposite. He understood Mashujaa Day as a campaign billboard opportunity. That is not just disrespect — it is immaturity. A serious PS knows the difference between a Ministry function and a county host function.
Raymond Omollo does not put billboards when Ruto goes to Kisumu. Chris Kiptoo does not put billboards when Ruto goes to Elgeyo Marakwet. They know their place. Why? Because they are mature.
From education blunder to tourism blunder — another sack loading?
Doc, remember my plea to the President to dismiss him from Education after his blunder? When he told principals to “negotiate with learners who were unwilling to sit examinations,” I wrote to the President: This man has no respect for teachers, for parents, for exams. He will embarrass the government. Weeks later, he was removed from Education and dumped in Tourism. My prediction came true.
Now history is repeating itself. Same disrespect, same self-marketing, same misunderstanding of his role. From negotiating exams with children to negotiating his face with billboards. Unfortunately, he may face another sack. And this time, even tourism billboards will not save him.
Because the President is watching. The President wants loyalty, not noise. The President wants delivery, not vinyl. The President wants a united North Rift of three Governors, not one PS dividing it.
A PS who disrespects three elected Governors to market himself on a day for Mashujaa is a PS who does not understand government.
That’s why he loses and is so easy to beat
2013: Lost to Mandago in URP.
2022: Lost to Bii in UDA.
Twice rejected at primaries. Why? Because voters punish immaturity.
You cannot bypass three Governors, disrespect your host Governor Bii, ignore Elgeyo Marakwet and Nandi co-hosts, and then tell the same voters: “Vote for me in 2027.”
Uasin Gishu voters are mature even when their leaders are not. They see a billboard today and remember a ballot tomorrow. That is why he is easy to beat. You don’t need money. You just need to remind people who respects them.
The mature way forward for Governor Bii
Maturity means:
- Let the three Governors welcome the President together in one billboard — unity of the North Rift.
- Let host Governor Bii lead the welcome — constitutional respect.
- Let Mashujaa be about Mashujaa — not about 2027.
- Let the PS do his job — market Kerio Valley, market Rimoi, market our culture, not himself.
Governor Bii has already shown maturity. He has not answered billboards with billboards. He has answered with work.
That is why he scores. That is why he won. That is why he will win again.
Mashujaa Day billboards bottom line
You cannot co-host a national day alone. You cannot welcome a President alone when three counties are hosting. You cannot replace three Governors with one face.
Mashujaa Day needs one mature billboard: Bii, Rotich and Sang together saying “North Rift Welcomes the President.”
What we got instead is a warning sign of a second sack — from an education blunder to a tourism blunder. The President has dismissed him once. If he continues this disrespect to Governors and to Mashujaa Day itself, he may force the President to do it again.
Maturity is not expensive. It just needs understanding. And understanding is what this billboard politics lacks.
