UDA’s Cliff Ombeta concedes defeat in Bonchari MP contest
Written by Inka FM on 10 August 2022
City lawyer Cliff Ombeta has conceded defeat in the Bonchari parliamentary contest ahead of the declaration of the final results.
Ombeta, in a statement released in the wee hours of Wednesday morning, said he had lost the election and he lives to fight another day.
“Bonchari Enyia has and will always be in my heart. Those who believed in me, we will keep it alive. This will not be our end politically,” Ombeta said in a tweet.
“Our vision was probably not the same with the ordinary Boncharian, therefore, we must bring it back to them in a different dimension,” he added.
Ombeta, a newbie in politics, was seeking the MP seat on a United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party.
He faced off against Jonah Ondieki of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party and seven others.
The candidates have been on a charm offensive in the Kisii constituency to replace Pavel Oimeke, who has only been in office for about a year.
The current MP and former Managing Director of the Energy Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) was denied an ODM ticket after allegedly falling out with the party leadership, just months after assuming office following the death of former MP Oroo Oyoika.
Oimeke wins Bonchari seat
Oimeke emerged victorious after defeating 12 candidates including the deceased’s widow Teresa Bitutu of UDA in a by-election conducted in May 2021.
In a past interview, Ombeta said he shelved his political ambitions in the May 18 by-election in favour of Bitutu.
“Bitutu vied on the UDA ticket but did not succeed. The initial plan was to support her and move on, but we did not cross that river. We must chart our own ways forward,” he said last year.
“I will vie for the Bonchari parliamentary seat in 2022 on a UDA ticket. We are not wasting any time … we have started campaigning.”
