A tight contest is brewing for the Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) ticket in Westlands after businessman tycoon Simon Komu joined the race for the parliamentary seat.
Simon Komu,a hospitality and telecommunications has announced that he will seek the seat on the DCP platform associated with former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, setting up an intriguing nomination battle with former Law Society of Kenya (LSK) president Nelson Havi, who is also eyeing the party ticket.
The contest for the DCP nomination is expected to attract considerable attention as the party seeks to establish itself as a major political force in Nairobi ahead of the 2027 General Election.
Komu enters the race with previous experience in elective politics and a long association with Westlands, where he has lived and conducted business for about 15 years.
Havi, on the other hand, comes into the contest with a strong national profile forged through his tenure as LSK president and years of public engagement on governance, constitutional and political affairs.
The two are already deemed formidable contenders for the DCP ticket with Komu priding himself as an aborigin of Westlands Constituency.
The battle is taking shape against the backdrop of incumbent MP Tim Wanyonyi’s expected bid for the Bungoma gubernatorial seat, potentially leaving the Westlands parliamentary position open.
Speaking during a people-meet tour, Komu said his campaign would focus on improving education, healthcare, sanitation and infrastructure in the constituency.
He said one of his priorities would be expanding access to secondary education by pushing for the construction of fully equipped schools in each of Westlands’ five wards.
“We currently have less than five secondary schools in Westlands. Like in Karura Ward, we have no single secondary school; it only has Hospital Hill School, which is a boarding school and hosts a lot of students who are not locals,” Komu said.
He said he would also pursue an equitable bursary distribution system to ensure that needy learners across the constituency have access to education.
Komu has already begun implementing what he calls Soma na Komu, an initiative through which books and stationery are distributed to needy pupils and students.
He said the programme is targeting 10,000 learners from humble backgrounds.
On healthcare, Komu said he would lobby the national and county governments to improve health facilities in the constituency, while also prioritising sanitation and drainage, particularly in informal settlements.
He noted that Westlands’ reputation as one of Nairobi’s wealthiest areas often masks the difficult living conditions faced by residents of informal settlements such as Githogoro, Kibarage and Deep Sea.
“We have a number of informal settlements in Westlands which grapple with issues of health and sanitation and drainage systems,” he said.
Komu is not a newcomer to politics. He previously served as the Ndarugo Member of the County Assembly in Gatundu South between 2013 and 2017, during the first term of devolved government.
He rose to become the first Majority Leader of the Kiambu County Assembly and was also elected national chairman of the TNA MCAs Caucus.
His entry into the Westlands race therefore gives the DCP nomination contest an additional dimension, pitting a businessman with previous county-level political experience against Havi, a high-profile professional and former LSK president.
With other aspirants also expected to join the race, the coming months could determine who emerges as the DCP’s preferred candidate in a constituency that is likely to be one of Nairobi’s closely watched parliamentary contests in 2027.
