West Pokot Deputy Governor Returns from the US After Four Years, Announces Bid for Governor's Seat
West Pokot County Deputy Governor Dr. Nicholas Atudonyang has returned to the country ahead of the August 9th elections.
Atudonyang, who went back to the US shortly after the elections in 2017, was on Saturday crowned as a new Pokot leader at Amaya shrines in Baringo, where he declared his bid for the West Pokot gubernatorial seat in the forthcoming elections on a Kanu ticket.
He will be seeking to oust Governor Prof. John Lonyangapuo, who will be defending his seat under the Kenya United Party (KUP), where he is the party leader.
“The people continue to support me, the people continue to feel and appreciate what I am doing for them, and they know that I continue to carry their aspirations with them,” said Atudonyang following his crowning.
“You will see for yourself as we move to the elections that majority of the people will give me the mandate to be the governor this time, not just the deputy governor,” he added.
Dr. Atudonyang, a doctor by profession, castigated Governor Lonyangapuo, accusing him of failing to unite the people of West Pokot county.
“The governor saw it fit to isolate the people of West Pokot from the rest of Kenya by forming a small tribal party, but the people of West Pokot seem to be smarter than the governor himself,” he said.
Soon after the last elections, Dr. Atudonyang is said to have left for the United States, where he has been practicing as a neurosurgeon.
Governor Lonyangapuo previously defended Atudonyang’s prolonged absence when he was summoned by the Senate and Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC).
The governor defended himself for allowing his deputy to work and live in the US, saying Atudonyang was helping the county in sourcing for health equipment.
“After the equipment arrived, he prolonged his stay, so I told him now we can no longer have any reason to explain to anybody in West Pokot why you should continue being paid. Then he said his salary should be terminated,” he told a Senate committee in 2019.
In 2020, the governor accused Dr. Atudonyang of working with some political leaders from the county to undermine his administration.