RUTO’S LAWYER GETS ZERO VOTES IN NANDI

Nairobi based lawyer Caroline Jerono who was part of President William Ruto’s legal team that represented him at last month’s presidential petition that challenged his election at the Supreme Court got zero votes in the Nandi County Assembly Speaker’s race held on Wednesday.

Ms Jerono, 35, was the only female among 11 candidates for the seat, which was bagged by Mr Philemon Cheruiyot, a Kapsabet based lawyer who bagged 34 votes out of the 44 total votes, while his closest opponent Phillip Kitur managed ten votes in second round.

Ms Jerono who also appeared in the BBI case in 2021 and served in the United Democratic Alliance tribunal had earlier expressed hope of clinching the seat to become the first female Speaker of Nandi county.

“I believe I have all that is required of a candidate and I believe I am going to set a legacy that will withstand the test of time,” she said when she presented her application papers to the Clerk of the National Assembly.

Weaker gender
“I implore to the MCAs to give this opportunity to serve them not as a weaker gender but as someone who is able to compete with men and able to take up this position and serve this nation,” she said.

“The team led by President William Ruto has encouraged women to go for leadership positions and it is evident in the numbers of women governors who were elected and reflected in the numbers of female MPs elected under UDA,” she said earlier.

However, when the hour of reckoning came, none of the MCAs had cast a vote for her. Ms Jerono has practiced law for seven years now, and believed she had adequate experience to take over the leadership mantle at the Nandi county assembly.

Chesumei MP Dr Wilson Kogo, a former high school principal who was being fronted by the UDA party for the Speaker’s position also lost the bid, managing just three votes in the exercise was supervised by Assembly Clerk Barnabas Kosgey who administered the oath of office to the new Speaker.