By Ben Leshau
Since the death of the undisputed king of the Maa community William ole Ntimama
four years ago, his shoes have been so large to fill.
Many contenders that have been mentioned as likely successors of the late doyen of Maasai politics have remained just as apirants to the throne.
In his family where some of his children have also been touted for political stardom that none has so far made it on the national scene.
Tongues were left wagging when his daughter Lydia Masikonte accompanied him to a meeting with President Uhuru Kenyatta at State House a few weeks before his death in September 2016.
Word at the time was that the outspoken young woman was the preferred lone political heir of the late fiery politician Ntimama in Narok North.
After the State House visit, Ntimama asked the Maa community to join President Kenyatta’s jubilee party for the sake of development and for future political well-being of the community..
During the 2017 parliamentary elections, the Narok North seat was captured by Moitalel ole Kenta who had also won the seat in 2013 on a TNA ticket.
Lydia Ntimama didn’t win when she vied for the Narok Women Representative seat in the 2013 elections an ODM ticket.
Although her father had advised that she stays put in Jubilee, she went against his will and bolted out of the party after she was allegedly prevailed upon into dropping her woman rep aspirations.
“I was taken to Jubilee by my father but upon reaching there, I saw a ‘monster’ and I had to retreat,” Lydia said when she ditched Jubilee in 2017.
She instead joined former Bomet Governor Isaac Ruto’s Chama Cha Mashinani (CCM) party which was a NASA coalition affiliate party to vie for the woman rep position but came third in the race won by Jubilee’s Soipan Tuya.
Tuya retained her seat by getting 122,907 against her close rival Rebecca Tonkei (ODM) 78,576 while Lydia garnered 44,000 raising concern over the future of the Ntimama political successor in Narok.
Lydiah has declared she will again run for the Woman Rep seat in 2022 for the third time in a row and it remains to be seen whether she will pull a fast one on other candidates.
The challenges facing the younger Ntimama appear to be the dynamic political environment in the country.
Of Ntimama’s children, Lydiah politician popularly known as entito orkingi (King’s Daughter) by the Maasai is the most vocal.
Lately however, her younger brother Timothy Tempes Ntimama locally known as “Double T” seems to be keen on reigniting his late father’s ‘fire’ as he has already declared interest to run for Narok North parliamentary seat that his father occupied for over 25 years.
Tempes, a soft-spoken budding politician has been criss-crossing the constituency popularizing himself ahead of the 2022 tussle with his father’s rival and the current MP Moitalel ole Kenta.
“I am going for this seat come 2022 because I have what it takes to be the next Narok North MP,” Tempes declared at a recent meeting.
He reiterated that his father did a lot for the Maa people and that he deserves recognition and his legacy should be retained.
In 2017 Tempes vowed to support his elder sister Lydiah after a family agreement to do so.
“As a family, we were in full support of Lydiah because she has been in the political field before and that is why we gave her our blessings to carry on the leadership,” said Tempes at the height of 2017 general elections.
What
about Ntimama’s other children?
President Uhuru Kenyatta appointed Ntimama’s eldest son Amos Sipoi Ntimama as
the new NGO Co-ordination Board chairman after 2017 where he shall serve for
three years.
The president had earlier in 2016 appointed him to chair the Private Security
Regulatory Authority, replacing former intelligence Chief Michael Gichangi.
Ntimama’s youngest daughter Vivian who was his father’s property administrator
died early this year from what was described as heart attack.
She
was an officer at the Ministry of Foreign affairs until her
demise.
Lydiah’s bid for 2022 Woman Rep seat received a boost after she was appointed
by President Kenyatta to serve at the Agricultural Development Corporation(ADC)Board
as a member.
Lydiah is also credited for lobbying for the renaming of the Narok Stadium to
William ole Ntimama Stadium in recognition of his father’s efforts in fighting
for the land and political rights of the Maa speaking community.
Her efforts bore fruit last year when the Sports, Culture CS Amina Mohammed
officially renamed the stadium though the name is yet to be changed on the
arena’s name board.
The family in a bid to boost the Ntimama’s legacy built a mausoleum at his
Motony home on the outskirts of Narok town to showcase the family patriarch’s
history.