NAIROBI, Kenya — Party of National Unity (PNU) leader Peter Munya has explained why his party performed poorly in the recent Ol Kalou parliamentary by-election, saying the party allowed its candidate to contest primarily to gain political experience despite knowing he had little chance of winning.
Speaking during an interview on Citizen TV’s JKLive on Wednesday, Munya said PNU had initially advised its candidate, Edwin Kariri, against entering the race because the opposition had agreed to back a single candidate.
According to Munya, Kariri, a university student, insisted on contesting, arguing that participating in the by-election would help him gain practical political experience.
“A young man who is in university came to my office and wanted to vie. We told him we are in the United Opposition, we want one candidate, and he was unlikely to win,” Munya said.
“He asked us, ‘Are you going to deny me the right to participate to get experience of running merely because I will not win?’ I was touched, and we decided to let him run.”
Munya said he did not campaign for Kariri during the by-election, reiterating that the party had never expected to win the seat.
He further disclosed that PNU later attempted to persuade Kariri to withdraw from the race in support of the opposition’s preferred candidate.
“Did you see me in Ol Kalou campaigning for him? In fact, at one point we persuaded him to step down,” Munya said.
“He discussed it with the DCP candidate that he wanted to publicly step down, but the DCP candidate advised him not to.”
Kariri eventually garnered just 28 votes in the hotly contested by-election.
The seat was won by Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP) candidate Sammy Kamau Ngotho, who secured 35,440 votes, while United Democratic Alliance (UDA) candidate Samuel Muchina Nyagah finished second with 5,450 votes.
Munya’s remarks come days after former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua criticised PNU’s performance, arguing that the party’s poor showing reflected a lack of grassroots mobilisation.
Speaking during a meeting with delegates from Mathioya and Kangema constituencies, Gachagua challenged opposition leaders to actively market their respective political parties instead of relying on media appearances.
“Munya and the PNU party did not even visit Ol Kalou. Your candidate only got 28 votes in that by-election. Isn’t that embarrassing?” Gachagua said.
The former Deputy President maintained that every opposition party should strengthen its grassroots support while working together to build a united front ahead of the 2027 General Election.
