Meru Senator Mithika Linturi's recent controversial remarks in Eldoret will not have any effect on his August election plans, analyst Wycliffe Muga says.
Linturi found himself under criticism and in trouble with law enforcers after making remarks seen to have been aimed at inciting natives of the North Rift region against residents originating from other regions.
And while this to others could mean that he might have it hard convincing his people to elect him in August, thanks to the "madoadoa" remark which some might find dangerous, the analyst doubts this.
He says that nothing will happen to the senator with regards to punishment from the electorate as when voters make up their minds and pick their preffered politician nothing can convince them otherwise.
"There was a time when I would have – without hesitation – speculated that Senator Linturi had “scored an own goal” from which it would be impossible to recover. But I now know better – and mostly because of the 2016 presidential election in the US," he says in an article in The Star.
He likens Linturi's situation to that of ex-US President Donald Trump, who proceeded to win despite emergence of his unfortunate earlier recordings.
Earlier, 10 years before deciding to vie for President, Trump had been taped bragging about how he could grope women and get away with it, recordings that were released when he threw his heart in the ring.
Muga says that the fact that most women, including those deeply rooted in religion, proceeded to vote for him in large numbers despite the remarks is proof that Linturi too will manage to keep his votes and retain the support he enjoys among his people.
"The lesson from that incident then was that once voters have chosen sides, they tend to stick with their team. And they easily find ways to forgive their favoured candidates of what may once have seemed to be an unforgivable blunder," he adds.
He opines that the fact that Linturi has been appearing regretful and has even apologized and sought to explain what he meant will better the situation for him.
Linturi has said that he was speaking about politicians and not the people and was asking the region to shun those eyeing seats on other parties other than DP William Ruto's UDA party.
Content created and supplied by: Curtis-Otieno (via Opera News )
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