When he entered into competitive politics in 1997, Raymond Chelulei did not know one day he would become a Member of County Assembly.
25 years later, Chelulei of UDA party trounced his youthful contenders to clinch Singhor-Soba MCA seat in Tinderet Constituency in the recently concluded general election.
The 71-year-old MCA elect garnered 12,501 votes becoming perhaps the oldest elected leader in the country.
Nandi has been known for electing youthful leaders in the region having produced the youngest Governor, Senator and MCA in 2013 and 2017 elections.
Governor Stephen Sang was first elected as the Senator at the age of 27 years in 2013 and five years later, he became the youngest county boss.
The County further produced the youngest legislators; Senator Samson Cherargei and Kilibwoni MCA Cynthia Muge, aged 28 and 24 years respectively. Muge is now the current Women Representative.
Narrating his political journey which had ups and downs, Chelulei attributed his victory to his ideal development agenda that gained popularity among the locals adding that electorates accepted his agenda despite his age.
“It has been a long and tough journey. I entered into politics in 1997 but I thank God my consistent efforts and prayers have enabled me to clinch the seat,” he said.
The County has 30 MCAs elected in the August election, 25 from UDA party, 3 from ANC and 2 are independent.
Chelulei rode on his popular political mantra ‘boyot komas kazit’ which loosely translated means ‘let the old man do the work’, and he garnered support across the social age sets.
In 1997, the now elated MCA first battled out for the Tindiret parliamentary seat using the then Raila Odinga-led party, the National Development Party (NDP) and lost to former minister Henry Kosgey.
“In 2013, I returned to politics and vied for the same position using United Democratic Party (URP), the popular party in the region, but I didn’t manage,” he stated
And the just concluded election, he tried the MCA seat and won with a big margin. Chelulei noted that his goal was to give back to the society by eliminating illiteracy and poverty.
“I come with vast experience having worked for various sectors in the country. I promise to change the living standards of locals and fulfill all the promises I made during my campaign,” he said.
Elsewhere, 24-year-old Edwin Kiprop of UDA was elected to represent people of Nandi Hills becoming probably the youngest Member of the County Assembly in the County and country at large.
Kiprop completed Form Four in Kabote Secondary school in 2017 then proceeded for tertiary education where he graduated with a Diploma in general agriculture in one of local colleges.
“I had passion in leadership and I got support from friends and well-wishers in campaigns, and my humble background could not deter me from achieving my objectives of representing the youths,” he stated.
By Linet Wafula
