This archive report was first published on 8 November 2019.
The Kibra by-election, held on November 7, 2019, was a unique and complex event in Kenya's political history. With 24 candidates vying for the seat, it was one of the highest numbers of contestants in a by-election in recent years.
Orange party's Bernard Okoth emerged victorious, beating 23 other candidates, including McDonald Mariga of Jubilee, Eliud Owalo of Amani National Congress, and Anaciet Dorn of Development Party.
Political Scientist Tom Mboya attributed the high number of candidates to a conspiracy theory, suggesting that some key individuals with an interest in the final outcome may have sponsored candidates to split votes in their favor.
"This is just but a conspiracy theory," Mr. Mboya said. "Some big players, especially those who wanted to test waters in Kibra, might have sponsored candidates from particular communities with an aim of splitting votes in their candidate's favor."
However, the strategy did not work out, and Bernard Okoth won the seat with 58% of the votes, down from the 78% won by the late Ken Okoth in the 2017 polls.
Jubilee Party more than doubled its share of votes from 12% to 26%, while DP Ruto tweeted that the party had demonstrated unprecedented resolve in the face of many odds.
Political analyst Javas Bigambo argued that the Kibra by-election and the long ballot paper demonstrated that city politics are complex and competitive.
"It demonstrated that major political parties want to own a stake of the city by having political representation," he said.
