Nakuru Since 1906: Leadership, Power, and Representation in the Rift Valley
Nakuru Leadership and its Representation since 1906.
For us to understand better, we shall have to start this story from the time Kenya became a British Colony and the inception of the first Parliament in Kenya.
Kenya, at the time known as the East Africa Protectorate, first established a legislative body, called the Legislative Council (LegCO), in 1906 while still under British colonial rule.
1906: LegCo was established following the promulgation of the East African Order-in-Council.
1907: The LegCo held its first sitting on 16th August, 1907. The LegCo was all-whites House until much later when 5 seats were set aside for Indians to represent Indian interests and 1 seat for the Arabs to represent Arab Interests
The first LegCo consisted of 9 members; Governor Sir James Hayes Sadler, Henry Currie, Charles Bowring, Charles William Hobbley, J. Montgomery, R.M. Coombe, Colonel J. Wilson, J.H Wilson and finally Lord Delamere.
Each of these Members had a constituency to represent largely areas occupied by the whites.
1944: The first African, Mr. Eliud Mathu, was nominated by the Governor to represent the majority who were Africans.
1946: The second African Mr. Benaiah A. Ohanga was nominated, then followed by Mr. Fanuel W. Odede in 1947.
1948: Jeremiah J. Nyaga and J.J. Chamallan were both nominated to the LegCo.
1957: The first election of African representatives under the Lyttelton Constitution to the LegCo was held and the number of Africans were increased from six to eight elected Africans, who joined the LegCo representing eight electoral areas. They included Hon. Bernard Mate, Central Province; Hon. Ronald Ngala, Coast Province; Hon. Tom Mboya, Nairobi; Hon. Oginga Odinga, Nyanza Central; Hon. Masinde Muliro, Nyanza North; Hon. Lawrence Oguda, Nyanza South; Hon. Daniel arap Moi, Rift Valley; and James Muimi, Southern/Ukambani. (Slade, 1975).
1958: Under the Lennox Boyd Constitution, the LegCo was expanded to consist of 14 African members, 14 Europeans, 3 Asians and 3 Arabs.
1960: The first Lancaster House Conference brought changes that allowed Parliament to constitute 53 Constituency elected Members of whom 33 were Africans, 10 European, 8 Asian, 2 Arab and 12 National Members, elected by Council sitting as an Electoral College.
1961: A General Election was held to implement the first Lancaster House Agreement.
The History of the Legislative Council (LegCo)
History of the Parliament of Kenya
Post-Colonial Political Transformation: African Leadership and Electoral Dynamics in Nakuru Since 1957
Nakuru has served as an alternative center of political activity to Nairobi since the colonial era. Originally a white settler–dominated hub, the town underwent rapid transformation in the 1960s following independence. Jomo Kenyatta, Kenya’s first president, often used Nakuru as a key base of power whenever he was away from Nairobi or Gatundu. His successor, Daniel Toroitich arap Moi, followed a similar pattern, maintaining a strong presence through his farm in Rongai, Nakuru North. As a result, Nakuru gained significant political influence and sensitivity, particularly during the 1980s.
1957: Nakuru’s African community first gained the opportunity to elect their own representative in 1957, when the area was part of the vast Rift Valley constituency represented by schoolteacher Daniel Toroitich arap Moi. In 1958, this large constituency was divided into two, but Nakuru continued to fall under Moi’s representation until the 1961 elections. At the same time, the approximately 6,000 European settlers in the region maintained separate constituencies of their own.
1961: Following the release of Jomo Kenyatta from detention, the country experienced what came to be known as the “Kenyatta election.” At the time, Nakuru was considered a relatively radical area, marked by strong tensions over land buying and squatting. This situation led to Nakuru Town being designated as an open seat—allowing Africans both to contest and to vote—while much of the wider Rift Valley, including Kericho, Uasin Gishu, Baringo, and North Kenya, remained under European representation (with Laikipia then part of Central Province).
The Nakuru Town seat was narrowly won by a KADU candidate, Wafula Wabuge, largely due to a split vote among pro-Kenya African National Union - KANU candidates. Wafula Wabuge would later become the Member of Parliament of Kitale in 1963.
1963: In the independence elections, held under newly drawn constituency boundaries, the Kenya African National Union - KANU won all the seats in Nakuru. Most of those elected were considered radicals, aligning more closely with Jaramogi Oginga Odinga than with Tom Mboya or Jomo Kenyatta.
Two members of the Kapenguria Six were elected as Members of Parliament for Nakuru, forming part of a uniquely multi-ethnic leadership team—one the district would not witness again. Among them, Ramogi Achieng Oneko went on to serve as a cabinet minister.
1966: A left-wing faction of the governing Kenya African National Union (KANU) instigated a mass defection from the party and formed the KPU PARTY led by Vice President Jaramogi Oginga Odinga. KANU responded by amending Kenya's constitution to force a 'little general election' in June 1966. All MPs who defected to the KPU were nominated by the party to contest their seats.
The new KPU was strong in the region by then prompting Achieng-Oneko and Wasonga Sijeyo to defect (Achieng-Oneko resigned as minister) and were forced into by elections, which they both lost.
1969: Following the banning of the Kenya People's Union, Kenya effectively returned to a de facto one-party state dominated by Kenya African National Union. This period also saw major constitutional changes, including the abolition of the Senate and a redistribution of electoral boundaries.
Amid these developments, James Onamo moved back to contest a seat in Western Province, while Willy Komen was elected as Member of Parliament for Nakuru West. At the same time, Nakuru North constituency was created as part of the new administrative and electoral restructuring.
1974: In the 1974 general election, Fred Kubai lost his seat to Simon Kairo. During this period, land-buying companies—particularly the Ngwataniro group—held significant influence, with its chairman Kihika Kimani elected to represent Nakuru North. He secured victory by a narrow margin, nearly losing to the radical Koigi wa Wamwere, who was detained without trial shortly after the elections.
1975: In 1975, following the assassination of J. M. Kariuki, his close ally Mark Mwithaga was detained. A by-election was subsequently held to fill the vacant seat, and Mwithaga remarkably won while still in prison. Later that year, a second by-election was conducted in December, in which Willy Komen was elected as the Member of Parliament for Nakuru Town.
1979: Following the death of President Jomo Kenyatta, the 1979 elections in Nakuru were marked by intense political shifts. All sitting MPs from the area were replaced, largely by figures seen as allies of Daniel Toroitich arap Moi.
Mark Mwithaga was released from detention and successfully reclaimed his Nakuru Town parliamentary seat. In Nakuru North, Kihika Kimani lost to the dreadlocked, former detainee Koigi wa Wamwere.
At the municipal level, political control also shifted rapidly. Nakuru’s mayor, Gichua, was replaced in February, and later that year Mathenge took over in December, as President Moi moved to exert more direct influence over Nakuru’s political landscape.
1982: Following the 1982 Kenyan coup attempt, Koigi wa Wamwere was detained, prompting a by-election in his constituency. In the subsequent vote, he was replaced by Francis Kimosop.
In 1983, a snap general election was called as part of a political realignment following the 1982 Kenyan coup attempt. President Daniel Toroitich arap Moi framed the move as an effort to “clean up the system,” arguing that some senior figures were disloyal and had sought support from foreign powers.
In Nakuru, the outcome underscored Moi’s political dominance and influence. Mark Mwithaga lost the Nakuru Town seat, while Fred Kubai made a political comeback by winning the Nakuru East seat.
1986: Nakuru North MP Francis Kimosop died by commiting suicide, prompting a by-election in the constituency. He was succeeded by Eric Bomett, President Moi’s In-Law, who defeated Koigi wa Wamwere in a contest widely regarded as flawed. Following the outcome, Koigi went into political exile, seeking asylum in Norway.
Meanwhile, former Nakuru Town MP Mark Mwithaga was suspended from the Kenya African National Union (KANU).
1988: A boundary redistribution exercise led to the subdivision of Nakuru North, resulting in the creation of Rongai Constituency. At the same time, Nakuru West was renamed Molo.
During the Kenya African National Union primary elections, four out of five contests were marred by the controversial queue voting system, commonly known as mlolongo. In the end, Eric Bomett was elected unopposed as the Member of Parliament for Rongai.
In 1990, the Member of Parliament for Nakuru North, Silas Mburu Gichua, passed away, prompting a by-election in the constituency. In the subsequent vote, he was succeeded by J. M. Kuria.
Queue voting (mlolongo) was abolished in 1991, and in December of the same year, Kenya formally returned to multi-party democracy, ending the one-party dominance of Kenya African National Union. However, many politicians who had benefited from the earlier system initially remained within KANU, waiting for the right moment to defect.
As Parliament was dissolved ahead of the elections, a wave of defections followed. Njenga Mungai joined the Forum for the Restoration of Democracy–Asili (FORD-Asili), while Amos Kimemia, Gitahi Ngaruo, and J. M. Kuria defected to the Democratic Party (DP).
1992: The first Multi-Party Elections were held in December 1992, amid ethnic clashes across parts of the Rift Valley, the Democratic Party (DP) led by Mwai Kibaki showed strong promise during the primaries. However, the final results in Nakuru told a different story.
Kenneth Matiba’s Forum for the Restoration of Democracy–Asili (FORD-Asili) swept four out of the five parliamentary seats in the district, while Daniel Toroitich arap Moi’s Kenya African National Union managed to secure only one seat.
1992: The second multi-party elections were held in 1997, following a period marked by recurring ethnic clashes in parts of the Rift Valley. These tensions contributed to another round of boundary redistribution, which saw Molo Constituency split to create Kuresoi. At the same time, Nakuru East was renamed Naivasha Constituency, while Nakuru North became Subukia Constituency.
In the elections, Mwai Kibaki’s Democratic Party (DP) dominated the Nakuru political landscape, winning four seats, while Kenya African National Union (KANU) managed to secure two.
Meanwhile, Kihika Kimani—who had shifted to contest in Laikipia West in 1992—returned to Molo, where he defeated veteran politician Njenga Mungai.
2002: The third multi-party elections were held in the year 2002, ushering in a powerful political wave known as the Rainbow Coalition. As President Daniel Toroitich arap Moi retired from office, he handed over leadership of Kenya African National Union to Uhuru Kenyatta, the son of Jomo Kenyatta.
Riding on the momentum of the coalition, Mwai Kibaki of the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC) won the presidency. Nakuru reflected this national shift, with the coalition securing four parliamentary seats, while KANU managed to win two.
2003: The Member of Parliament for Naivasha, Paul Kihara, passed away, prompting a by-election in the constituency. In the subsequent vote, his wife, Jayne Kihara, won the seat and succeeded him as the MP for Naivasha.
The 2005 “Banana–Orange” constitutional referendum split had limited impact in Nakuru, as most MPs remained aligned with their existing political camps.
In 2006, the Member of Parliament for Nakuru Town, Mirugi Kariuki, died in the Marsabit plane crash alongside other national leaders. A by-election was subsequently held, and he was succeeded by his son, William Kariuki Mirugi, who contested on the ticket of the newly formed NARC-Kenya, allied to Mwai Kibaki’s political bloc.
2007: Following the 2007 General Elections, Mwai Kibaki of the Party of National Unity (PNU) was declared the winner of the presidency, but the result was strongly contested by Raila Odinga of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM). The dispute triggered widespread post-election violence across the country, eventually leading to the formation of a Grand Coalition Government.
In Nakuru, the elections ushered in a new set of political leaders. The results saw PNU win three parliamentary seats, ODM secured two while Kenya African National Union (KANU) took one seat.
2013: The 2010 Kenyan constitutional referendum ushered in major structural changes, including the creation of new constituencies—five of which were added in Nakuru—the establishment of a bicameral Parliament, and the introduction of devolved units headed by governors. To help address the two-thirds gender principle, the position of County Woman Representative was also introduced. Nakuru was consequently established as a county, one among the 47 counties in Kenya.
The first elections under this new constitutional framework were held in 2013. In these polls, an alliance between The National Alliance (TNA) and United Republican Party (URP) secured victory, leading to the election of Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta as the 4th President of Kenya.
2017: In the 2017 General Elections, Wiper Democratic Movement rejoined Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) under the National Super Alliance (NASA). However, the coalition lost the presidential race to the Jubilee Party alliance led by Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto.
In Nakuru, Jubilee achieved a near clean sweep, winning ten out of eleven parliamentary seats, with only one seat going to Kenya African National Union (KANU).
At the county level, Susan Kihika—daughter of Kihika Kimani—was elected as Nakuru Senator. Lee Kinyanjui became the Governor of Nakuru, while Liza Chelule was elected as the County Woman Representative.
2022: In the 2022 General Elections, the Azimio la Umoja alliance led by Raila Odinga faced the Kenya Kwanza alliance led by William Ruto in the presidential race. Kenya Kwanza emerged victorious, with William Ruto becoming Kenya’s fifth president.
In Nakuru County, the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) won nine out of the eleven parliamentary seats, while Jubilee Party secured the remaining two.
At the county level, Susan Kihika was elected as Nakuru Governor, Tabitha Karanja became the Nakuru Senator, and Liza Chelule was re-elected as the County Woman Representative.
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