Havi hunts for new party in renewed quest for Westlands MP seat

SENIOR counsel Nelson Havi is hunting for a new political party as he prepares to make a second stab for the Westlands parliamentary seat in next year’s general elections.

Havi ran for Westlands MP seat in 2022 and came second to incumbent Tim Wanyonyi after garnering 19,550 votes against Wanyonyi’s 58,408.

The former Law Society of Kenya president believes he’s now ready to serve Westlands as its lawmaker after the unsuccessful run in 2022.

“The 2022 race was lost because of time and unforeseen occurrences. Ideally, it was not my time and I lost because of several reasons,” Havi told the Star during an interview at his offices in Westlands.

With Wanyonyi now angling for the Bungoma gubernatorial seat in 2027, Havi remains the front runner for MP seat in Westlands.

However, he is not planning to run again on the United Democratic Alliance party on whose ticket he lost the race in 2022. Havi believes he needs to run under the banner of the United Opposition, saying the clout of either the ruling UDA party or the Orange Democratic Movement in the city is doubtful.

“A political party is a vehicle with which one travels to a destination. UDA was the available vehicle when I first ran in 2022. The receptability of UDA as a vehicle in Nairobi is doubtful,” Havi said.

He said he has already discussed with President William Ruto, who is the UDA party leader, to allow him exit the ruling party and pursue his quest to serve the people of Westlands on another party.

Asked whether he was gearing up to join the Democracy for Citizens Party led by former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, Havi said he was open to the idea.

“When you want to win an election you have to be strategic. I cannot win the seat of Westlands MP with UDA. So why should I be a fool just because people think it is not proper for me to greet Rigathi Gachagua, I think that is their own headache and I will not take Panadol on their behalf.”

Havi believes Tim Wanyonyi’s quest to run for governor does not make him the front runner saying he was going to run even if the incumbent lawmaker was to defend his seat.

“You don’t edge out of a contest because you’ve lost. Loss is the determinant of how much more effort you need to put in for the next assignment.”

Havi said the last three years have given him a proper perspective and insight with which to enrich his ability to public service and that the people of Westlands will vote for him to serve them, much better than they have been served.

As for the party on whose ticket he will run, he says he will ‘listen to the ground’ before making a decision.

“If the people of Westlands decide that I join DCP as the vehicle with which they want me to serve, I will verily join DCP. If they demand that I join Wiper as the matatu that will take me to the National Assembly, then I will. If they decide it is Jubilee or DAP-K or any party within the United Opposition, I will do it with no apologies to anybody.”

Havi, who was last month among 54 elite lawyers conferred with the rank of senior counsel, is the chairman of the Retirement Benefits Authority and brings a formidable public profile shaped by his high profile public interest litigation.

He pointed to his role in challenging the government’s Covid-19 containment measures, leading the legal fight against the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI), and his oversight of the RBA, which he described as a top five performing state corporation, as proof of a tangible track record.

“An insinuation that the badge of these offices has not yielded fruits or results to the people of Kenya is one that needs to be interrogated on the background of this discussion,” Havi stated.

Havi said Kenyans should elect MPs who have the capacity to properly oversight the executive so as to shoot down wrong policies in good time.

“We have a majority of MPs who (sorry to say) do not have the intellectual wherewithal to interrogate issues in advance, to see where the Executive is proceeding on a perilous path and to countermand that transgression in good time. I believe I have the capacity to do this,” Havi said. 

Central to Havi’s candidature is a promise of rigorous parliamentary oversight, an area where he believes the current National Assembly has failed.

He says he will focus on legislation to create employment for youth through vocational training and partnerships with multinational companies based in Westlands. 

On corruption, he pledged to be a vocal watchdog. “We don’t need the entire 290 elected members of the National Assembly to be vocal in oversight. I believe I have the capacity, bearing in mind what I’ve done before, to do this,” he said.