Citing his achievements while serving as MCA and as coordinator in Lenku’s government, he insists he has what it takes to become MP. “Besides, I have been the acting MP, during the time that Peris (Tobiko) has been away, traversing the county, selling her candidature as governor,” he says.
As the Kajiado County Government works on finishing the market in Kitengela, the traders are housed at a temporary location next to the bus park. This would not have been possible were it not for the fact that Daniel Kanchori fought tooth and nail to reclaim the land that had been grabbed by shadowy individuals.
Kachori was the first MCA for Oloosirkon Sholinke Ward in Kitengela, between 2013 and 2017, when he pulled off a feat many thought was impossible at the time. “That whole area, including where the police station stands, which measures about 60 acres, had been grabbed. When I vowed that the land would be stolen over my dead body, many thought I was joking,” says the soft-spoken Kanchori.
Protecting the land from the grabbers was not easy as he received a number of threats, including on his life, aimed at intimidating him to back off from the cause. He was unrelenting.
“When I became MCA, I took a solemn oath before God and the people who elected me,” he explains. “As long as the people were on my side, I was not afraid.”
The biggest chunk of the reclaimed land is now a stadium and was fenced off to ward off grabbers. “The Kitengela Bus Park stands on this land. That action saved the town from the traffic snarl-up that were being experienced when buses and matatus were picking and dropping off passengers on a road reserve,” says Kanchori, with a contented smile.
He told Kajiado Star that he was also instrumental in getting a toxic medical waste incinerator to relocate from the town, as well as ejecting a ‘church’ led by former Mungiki leader, Maina Njenga, from Kitengela town.
For the last three years, Kanchori served as Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) in the office of Governor Joseph ole Lenku. “I was coordinating the entire Kajiado County Government; I was basically the assistant governor,” he said.
With 2022 being around the corner Kanchori, who is a lawyer by training, is seeking the position of Kajiado East Member of Parliament. Citing his achievements while serving as MCA and as coordinator in Lenku’s government, he insists he has what it takes to become MP. “Besides, I have been the acting MP, during the time that Peris (Tobiko) has been away, traversing the county, selling her candidature as governor,” he says.
So what does he pledge to do for the people of Kajiado East? “My first priority is in the area of education,” says Kanchori, who is also a pastor. “We’ve had enough of our children going for education in other counties. This is equivalent to taking our money to other counties.”
“The truth of the matter is that we have serious shortage of public schools in Kajiado East, particularly in Kitengela, in the face of ballooning population,” he explains. “The excuse our leaders have been giving to shield themselves from scrutiny is that there is no land to build schools.”
According to him, one does not need acres of land to set up a school. “Haven’t we seen private schools built on a 50 by 100 plot of land? We need to think outside the box and construct storied classrooms in places where there is shortage of land,” he says, adding that the era of MPs doing only two classrooms is long gone.
Children, he says, must go to school to avert situations where the youth are roaming the villages, where they risk being recruited into criminal gangs. “We need to put up complete schools and just do a few classrooms,” adds Kanchori. “As a bare minimum, Kajiado East requires a modern primary and secondary school in each ward.”
His other area of interest would be infrastructure, noting that apart from the Namanga Highway, there are no tarmac roads in the constituency. “We are not children of a lesser god,” says Kanchori, blaming the lack of roads to misplaced priorities on the part of leaders.
“We cannot continue having murram roads in this day and age,” he explains, adding that to start with, he has set a target of three tarmacked roads, namely Ngurunga/Rongai, Konza/Isinya and Enkasiti/Birika. Giving the example of the Ngurunga/Rongai road, Kanchori says that it is a shame that the cement factories get raw materials from the area, yet it continues to be in such a bad state.
He adds that as MP, he would enter into talks with Kenha, with a view to having them construct a bypass from Mombasa Road to Isinya to ease congestion in Kitengela, now that the Expressway is being constructed from Mlolongo. This, he adds, would avert a situation where motorists enjoy smooth traffic on the expressway, only for them to get stuck, once they approach Kitengela.
Kachori explains that he would also ensure that he positively engages with all national government agencies to ensure that residents of his constituency benefit.
Although the Kajiado East seat has attracted huge number of contestants, Kanchori is not worried because, as he says, he is the man to beat. “Remember I have been the acting MP for this area,” he avers.
So, with all the positive vibes surrounding his tenure as MCA, why did he fail to defend his seat, in 2017? “I was a victim of Jubilee nomination tampering and that explains why the party failed to get a seat in Kajiado East,” he says, adding the party imposed weak candidates on the people.
When he failed to secure the Jubilee party nomination, Kanchori decided to gun for the Speaker’s position in Kajiado. “I had won the support of the MCAs and was sure to get the post, but then things were messed up at the last minute,” he recalls. “None other than the governor himself confessed that they tampered with the Speaker’s election.”
