Baringo North Member of Parliament William Cheptumo is the new Baringo senator after defeating the incumbent Gideon Moi who is Kanu national chairman.
Cheptumo emerged winner after garnering 141, 777 votes against Moi’s 71, 408 as Felix Chelaite of The Service Party (TSP) settled for a distant third with 3, 261 votes.
The Senator elect in his acceptance speech at Kenya School of Government, Baringo Campus, thanked residents for voting him in as their second senator and promised not to let them down.
“The great people of Baringo have spoken and have given me a chance to serve them for the next five years, I want to promise them that I will serve them diligently,” he said.
Cheptumo, who was handed an election certificate by IEBC County returning officer John Mwangi said that he was confident of winning the seat after residents voted for him overwhelmingly during the UDA nominations in 14th April this year.
He said that he is aware of the responsibility that is ahead of him and he is equally up to the task of uniting the warring communities living in the vast county which have been conflicting for over three decades due to retrogressive cultural practices.
“Baringo is perhaps one of the counties with many communities and my philosophy number one is to unite all leaders and the diverse communities,” he said.
He said that he will play a crucial role in uniting the warring communities of Pokot, Illchamus, Tugen and Endorois so that they can speak with one voice which is crucial if the county is to realize meaningful developments.
By Benson Kelio and Joshua Kibet
