Wanyonyi best for Nairobi governor, says Ida Odinga
Westlands MP Tim Wanyonyi’s candidature for Nairobi governor received a significant boost last weekend when ODM leader Raila Odinga’s wife, Ida, endorsed him.
Ida endorsed the two-term lawmaker on Saturday at a graduation ceremony of 151 boda boda riders and 119 drivers at Kibondeni College of Catering and Hospitality Management, Muthangari, in Wanyonyi’s constituency.
“He is a very organised, intelligent and educated person. I worked with him when he was at the Kenya Paraplegic Organisation.
If it is about something being done using brains, he’s got very good brains. If it is something that needs good organisation, he is a very organised person,” said Ida who was the chief guest at the ceremony.
Her endorsement comes nearly three years since Raila gave a nod to the legislator whom he referred to as “the incoming Nairobi governor.”
Raila made the declaration on December 11, 2018, during the finals of the Tim Wanyonyi Cup football tournament held at the Kabete National Polytechnic.
The former Prime Minister praised the MP’s development record in the constituency.
Hard work
On Saturday, Ida described Wanyonyi as a committed hard worker who executes his duties without discrimination, saying he had proved that he has what it takes to deliver to the people of Nairobi.
“By the fact that he has dared to dream bigger, let us support him. It is good to dream and have ambition. Tim has shown through hard work and discipline that it is possible.
Tim is like my elder son and he has a vision. We will ensure that we support him so that he becomes our next Nairobi governor in 2022 under the ODM party ticket,” she said.
She asked residents of Nairobi to vote for Wanyonyi as their governor in next year’s election if they want real change.
“This is the only hope we have as Nairobi people. So let us support him,” she said.
Ida reflected that he had worked with Wanyonyi during his stint as the Executive-Director of the Kenya Paraplegic Organisation (KPO), which he co-founded, saying she found him to be organised, intelligent and resourceful.
She observed that Wanyonyi’s steady rise from a Nominated Councillor in the defunct Nairobi City Council to the best performing MP for three years consecutively was an inspiring feat that ought to be emulated by others.
“So, there is nothing that can stop him from achieving his dream. Kazi kwenu sasa,” (I leave everything to you voters), she said.
Wanyonyi said he was satisfied with his performance as MP and was now ready to serve the residents of Nairobi in a higher office where he intends to use the working model he had applied in Westlands to change Nairobi.
“We now want to take this development model to City Hall because we have proved that if we do things right, we can have a great city.
Once we agree with our partners and we are given the ticket, I am sure I will deliver the seat to ODM and the people of Nairobi,” he said.
Wanyonyi, who is expected to formally declare his candidature on Sunday, first served as a Nominated councillor between 2007 and 2013 after which he secured ODM’s nomination to run for the Westlands parliamentary seat.
He faced well-heeled rivals, businessman Kamlesh Pattni and Nairobi tycoon Amin Walji. He, however, emerged victorious with 44,000 votes while his nearest rival Pattni picked 9,000.
So far, he is the only ODM politician who has declared interest in the governorship of the capital.
Should he secure the ticket, he is likely to face businessman Richard Ngatia, former Starehe MP Margaret Wanjiru of United Democratic Movement and former Dagoretti South MP Dennis Waweru.
