Farouk Kibet to run in 2027 elections

The battle for the Turbo parliamentary seat in President William Ruto's backyard has intensified with his personal assistant, Farouk Kibet, declaring interest in the seat.

This sets the stage for a bruising political battle for the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) ticket, with incumbent Janet Sitienei serving her second term.

Farouk had, in the recent past, heightened his political activities in the President’s home constituency, and it was widely believed that it was just a matter of time before he declared his interest in the seat.

According to Farouk, he has helped build leadership and steered many politicians to the top, and it is now his time to shine in elective positions.

“It's time I step forward and serve the people directly, having helped build leadership from behind the scenes,” he said while announcing his intention in Turbo.

The man from Chepsaita, Farouk, has on many occasions clashed with Sitienei over implementation of development projects in the constituency.

The constituency was hived off from Eldoret North, which was represented by President Ruto for over 20 years.

Farouk, considered a close ally of President Ruto, has been traversing the constituency, launching various development projects that have not gone down well with the MP, who feels she is being undermined.

The bad blood between the duo played out recently when Farouk led other leaders, among them National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Inchung'wa, in fundraising for women's groups in Turbo constituency.

Though Sitienei sent her personal donation of Sh100,000, she skipped the event held at Kamagut area, a stone's throw away from President Ruto's Sugoi home, a fact which did not go down well with Farouk.

A visibly angry Farouk termed Sitienei's move to skip the event in her constituency disrespectful to the people of Turbo.

“You have the guts to skip an event being held in your constituency where the President comes from? We will not accept that. Don't hate your people this much; where will you ferry other people to vote for you? You are not assisting the President at home, and you are not assisting him away either. Where do you stand?" Farouk said in his Kalenjin dialect.

“We will soon come and say more on the way forward. People elected you to serve them. You hate these people, but you will pay one day. Turbo people deserve to be respected. Mkose kufika ama ufike, Turbo itaenda mbele (whether you turn up or not, Turbo will progress),” said Farouk.

According to Farouk, all leaders in Rift Valley elected on UDA should assist the President in fulfilling the Kenya Kwanza development agenda.

“We should assist the President day and night, but how can we assist him when some leaders cannot turn up for projects at home?” Farouk said.

However, Sitienei hit out at Farouk over what she termed undermining other elected leaders.

"There should be respect across the board. People should not mistake my humility for weakness. Kila mtu afanye kazi yake. Tukitaka kusaidia rais, kila mtu achukue nafasi yake (If we want to assist the President, all leaders should play their respective roles),” said Sitienei, who is serving her second term.

The MP, who was elected on a UDA ticket, has maintained that she won't be cowed, having been elected overwhelmingly by more than 50,000 voters.

“We will go for politics when the right time comes, but for now, let's focus on serving our people,” Sitienei said.

The MP recently hit out at Farouk for commissioning and claiming ownership of school projects done by the Ministry of Education through her office.

Sitienei, who was elected as an independent candidate in 2017, is serving her second term after recapturing the seat in 2022 on a UDA ticket.

She floored four men in the party primaries and went ahead to clinch the seat.

Farouk's pronouncement is expected to unsettle local political heavyweights in Uasin Gishu County, who were also already plotting to unseat Sitienei in Turbo, with the move likely to concentrate power among President Ruto's inner circle.