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By Isabella Maua
Mt. Elgon residents have been advised to embrace unity of purpose in their quest to seek out new wards and sub counties in the region.
In an exclusive interview with Taarifa News, former councilor Pius Muyei urged the Sabaot, Teso, and Luhya communities, who are the primary occupants of the region, to maintain unity and peace during this critical period.
“We no doubt have a very large physical area in Mt. Elgon, hence being a challenging factor in the distribution of resources; this puts even the elected leaders in an awkward situation, and that’s why we need more constituencies,” he observed.
He added that now more than ever, they needed to bring their heads together so that they can bring forth their grievances before the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission once it’s formed.
According to Cherotwei Simotwo, an elder and an opinion leader from the Ogiek community, wananchi should normalize open baraza meetings where they can brainstorm and come up with amicable solutions for the community.
“The exercises we have had have so far been successful across all corners of Mt. Elgon; the major issue, however, has been a lack of self-motivation from a few people who only go to meetings for handouts,” cited Simotwo.
In a different forum, Jane Chepkorom, a former nominated MCA, highlighted that the Sabaots have only become voting machines whom no politicians take seriously once they ascend to power.
“Even President Ruto himself knows that he has not been politically just to the people of Mt. Elgon, especially the Sabaots, who are the minority community that voted for him massively as Kapkugo,” bemoaned Chepkorom.
Her sentiments were echoed by Patrick Pkosum, an opinion leader and political enthusiast who cited the abandonment of the Sabaot community despite President Ruto closely identifying with them as Kapkugo and also having the region as one of his strongholds.
He observed, “The Tugen and Marakwet are not as many in terms of population, but they have their own counties; the Sabaots, who also identify as Kalenjins, have been crying for more wards and constituencies, but our cry has always fallen on the government’s deaf ears.”
All said and done, the Sabaots popularly referred to as ‘Kapkugo’ remain hopeful that they too will taste the national cake which they are politically entitled.