A political rivalry pitting Emurua Dikirr MP David Keter against his political rival, Bernard Ngeno, played out during President William Ruto’s tour of the constituency.
The two politicians, who faced off in the recent UDA nominations, remain at loggerheads as they position themselves ahead of the 2027 General Election.
President Ruto, who was winding up his tour of Narok County, was treated to a political tug-of-war as supporters of the two camps clashed over their allegiance.
Early in the morning, scores of people were injured after two rival groups, believed to be supporters of Keter and Ngeno, engaged in violent confrontations.
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“It is a stark reality facing the sitting MP, and if the situation continues, then he will bow out in the coming polls,” said Langat.
The incident drew the attention of President Ruto, who was forced to issue a stern warning to the two politicians and their supporters.
Ruto said it was backward for people to kill or injure one another over political differences, urging the residents to embrace peaceful competition.
The President said it should be the last time anyone was injured as a result of political rivalry.
Switching to the local Kalenjin dialect to drive his message home, Ruto urged Keter to lead by example and promote peace in the constituency.
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“Please, let’s compete with ideas and not violence because that is backward. As the President, I am asking Hon. David Keter to lead by example so that peace can prevail here and development projects can be realised,” he said.
Ruto warned that the government would not tolerate further loss of life or injuries arising from political competition.
However, despite the President’s call for peace during a stopover at Mambo Leo Market, heated exchanges were witnessed at subsequent rallies across the constituency, where Keter and Ngeno were given opportunities to address the public.
Keter narrowly defeated Ngeno in the UDA nominations before going on to win the subsequent by-election against the DCP candidate.
Ngeno and his supporters, however, disputed the nomination results, accusing the party of unfairly locking him out of the contest and vowing to seek political revenge in the 2027 General Election.
The rivalry has been further fuelled by the high number of votes garnered by DCP candidate Vincent Rotich during the by-election.
Local political observers argue that the more than 10,000 votes garnered by DCP could have represented a protest vote against UDA following allegations that Ngeno was unfairly eliminated in favour of Keter.
Raymond Langat, a political observer in Narok, said Keter could face a difficult battle defending the seat if the protest vote persists.
Langat argued that Ngeno could stand a strong chance of defeating the incumbent if the current political divisions continue into the next election.
“It is a stark reality facing the sitting MP, and if the situation continues, then he will bow out in the coming polls,” said Langat.
