Editor's Review

It was not a walk in the park for the 22-year-old who beat all odds to clinch the Elementaita Ward MCA seat in Gilgil Constituency, Nakuru County.

For George Nene, the journey to victory in the concluded General Election was a perfect example of the common term ’grass to grace’.

It was not a walk in the park for the 22-year-old who beat all odds to clinch the Elementaita Ward MCA seat in Gilgil Constituency, Nakuru County.

Running on Safina party ticket, Nene garnered 4,310 votes flooring his closest competitor, UDA candidate Moses Ndung’u, who was the Nakuru County Assembly Majority Leader.

In a sit-down with a local daily, the humble young man said that he had ambitions of solving problems of his local area residents as he attributed his victory to his friends to helped him in his campaign.

The Egerton University graduate said that he was using a bicycle in his campaigns but it became a challenge to him due to poor roads in area.

“When it rained here, it became difficult for me to use the bicycle on some roads,” the MCA-elect, who lives in a mud-walled house, said.

He added that he later got a public address system from his friend but it was difficult for him to move it around as he did not have money to hire a vehicle.

It was when Nene borrowed a donkey and a cart which he later used to move the PA system during his campaigns before he clinched victory.

George Nene campaigning in the last elections. IMAGE: SCREENGRAB

“I had gotten the public address system but didn’t have the means of carrying it to reach the people. I thought about hiring a vehicle but did not have the ability of even fueling it.

“It’s when I got a friend of mine who helped me with his donkey and cart which I put my speakers and generator and continued with my campaign,” Nene stated.

He further asserted that when he started using the donkey to campaign, he used to get friends who financed to fueling of the generator.

Nene said that his victory was a great hope to the youth in the country and also a challenge adding that patience was key in his victory.

“The opportunity I got as a youth is a hope to youths in the country and is a challenge to them also that one day, they can get the position which I got. Patience is needed is whatever you do more so in the youth. If I was not patient in this journey, probably I could not have finished it,” the incoming legislator stated.

He thanked the people of Elementaita Ward for giving him the opportunity to serve them - maintaining that he would reward them by solving their problems.