As Jonathan Bii Chelilim alias Koti Moja will be taking oath as the second governor of Uasin Gishu County, he will probably be looking back at his political journey and thank God for answering prayers.
For the last 20 years, Koti Moja has been vying for the Member of Parliament (MP) seat – but in all the elections he failed.
His first attempt came in 1997 when he vied for the Eldoret North seat, but fell to the now President-elect Dr William Ruto.
Failure would follow him in the subsequent elections – the most recent one being in 2017 when he lost to Caleb Kositany in the battle for Soy MP seat.
All through the years, Koti Moja vied for the seat on a KANU ticket.
However, luck seemed to have found him the moment he quit the independent party, and declared support for the President-elect who had at the time convinced him to drop an election petition against Kositany.
First forward five years later, and he is now the Governor.
Koti Moja mockery to campaign tag
The soft-spoken politician admits that it has not been an easy ride for him politically.
When he first declared his gubernatorial ambitions, his competitors mocked him, and even branded him ‘mtu wa koti moja’ but then he used the stones thrown at him to build a brand known all over the country today – Koti Moja.
“I took the name and owned it and fortunately it resonated well with the electorate and my manifesto,” he said when asked about the origin of his name.
The Uasin Gishu Governor seat had attracted a number of well-known individuals, including two ambassadors – but Koti Moja’s political experience in mobilization outwitted them in the UDA nominations.
The Buzeki factor
He emerged victorious in a star-studded race that had Kositany whom he lost to in the previous MP race and envoys Sarah Serem and Prof. Julius Bitok who was making his second stab at the seat among others.
But even after clinching the UDA ticket, Moti Moja had to be at his best to finally win in the general election as he was up against billionaire businessman Zedekiah Kiprop Bundotich Buzeki.
At the end of the day, Koti Moja convincingly won the seat after garnering 214,036 votes against the 127,013 votes that Buzeki had.
“I know my political journey has been long and winding but I thank God that my prayers have finally been answered. I thank the people of Uasin Gishu for standing with me. I will never let them down,” Koti Moja said after he was declared Governor-elect.
He will now be in charge of the executive arm of Uasin Gishu County for the next five years, alongside his deputy Eng. John Barorot.
