Meet Solomon Maritim aka Gavana wa Baiskeli in Race to Succeed Uasin Gishu Governor Mandago

Solomon Maritim, nicknamed Gavana Wa Baiskeli, is not your typical politician.

Unlike his competitors who put on a show for the electorate, Mr Maritim is only armed with a manifesto in his pocket and at least four posters affixed on his bicycle – two in the front and two in the back.

This, he claims, is enough for his campaign to succeed Uasin Gishu governor Jackson Mandago.

“I am not a pushover the way my competitors want to paint me. I want to prove a point that politics is not for the wealthy but a game of ideologies on how to alleviate the socio-economic status of the population,” Mr Maritim told the Nation.

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“It is only the bicycle I own and I have been using it to traverse the entire county. I am happy because thus far I have covered over 70 percent of the county and my relatives and friends spread out in the region are also campaigning for me,” he said.

Mr Maritim, a finance graduate of Moi University, does not have a campaign secretariat to organize his political operations and devise winning strategies.

“These strategists later come in the form of gatekeepers whenever one is elected into office. Wananchi cannot access such offices because the strategists create a sort of protocol to be followed,” he explained.

“My principle is to have each voter be my strategist so that if I get elected, they will have no bureaucracy in accessing me.”

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In 2017, Mr Maritim who came in third after Mandago and businessman Zedekiah Bundotich aka Buzeki, in the Jubilee party primaries, said he employed the same strategy.

“My competitors know well that my manifesto resonates well with the wananchi. That is why they want to portray my candidacy as a joke because they know I have been giving them a run for their money,” he told the daily.

“They should not brush me off because I don’t have deep pockets compared with them, because I will trounce them.”

His revelation, however, that he will run for governor a second time was met with widespread skepticism.

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Naysayers, he said, urged him to go for a lower seat like that of the Ward Representative.

“Many dismissed my candidacy because of my poor financial background and tried to relegate me to a lower seat like a ward rep, which they felt suited me more, but I declined,” he said.

“It is high time we elected ordinary people who understand the plight of the people.”

On some days, he cycles for at least 50km to meetings where he sells his agenda.

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He claims that he has spent little money on logistics because he does not give handouts. He has only spent a huge amount of money on the nomination fees he paid through friends.

“Locals know I am one of them and they will never ask me for handouts.”

“I do not have posters across the county or billboards in towns as my competitors do. I believe in selling my manifesto to voters, other than using money to solicit for votes.”

“If elected, I want to revolutionise the dairy industry by introducing bonuses for farmers just like the tea sector. I do not believe wooing locals with grand projects that are unrealistic in the long run because they require billions in infrastructural development, but use the little we have to improve livelihoods,” he said.

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Mr Maritim will face former envoy to Pakistan Julius Bitok, his China counterpart Sarah Serem, former Nairobi County Environment executive Veska Kangogo, Eldoret businessman Jonathan Bii, Uasin Gishu County Assembly Chief Whip David Singoei, and Soy MP Caleb Kositany, all of whom are seeking to run on the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party ticket.

Independent candidates Zedekiah Bundotich and William Kirwa will face whoever gets the UDA ticket.