David Gikaria: Nakuru's 'Baba Yao'
Nakuru East MP (In Black) during a scuffle in the August 9 2022 General Election
Nakuru East Member of Parliament David Gikaria, is perhaps the second most vocal and abrasive politician in the region after former Bahati legislator Kimani Ngunjiri.
Mr Gikaria, popularly known as Team Manager (TM), is never shy to tackle head-on thorny issues in his Nakuru County backyard.
The former Nakuru town mayor is a legislator with a penchant for “people riots” and no stranger to controversy.
The legislator has in the past been caught up in several fracases, that have endeared him to the electorate who refer to him as ‘Baba Yao.’
For instance, on August 9,2022, Mr Gikaria was arrested over alleged assault at a polling station.
According to Nakuru County Police Commander Peter Mwanzo, the MP assaulted and injured a voter at a polling station in his constituency.
“There were claims he injured a voter and caused commotion and disturbance at the polling station,” Mwanzo said.
He said the assaulted voter was hospitalized after sustaining injuries in his head.
Nakuru East MP David Gikaria.
Born about 56 years ago, Mr Gikaria is aggressive, practical and his face cuts the image of a no-nonsense guy, one always ready to tackle things bare knuckled.
He earned the name TM out of his love for football and support for local football clubs.
Interestingly, the MP is a darling of the youth and women in Nakuru City, who believe he is their defender whenever they have issues with the county or national governments.
“TM ni baba yetu, tunampenda kwa sababu anatupigania na kuhakikisha anasaidia biashara ndogo ndogo kukua… (TM is our father, we love him because he fights for us and is always ready to support small scale businesses in Nakuru),” said Mr Daniel Karanja, a hawker.
However, there are those who feel Nakuru East has lagged behind in terms of development compared to the neighboring Nakuru West Constituency.
“Our neighbour has good roads and proper drainage systems but in Nakuru Town East we are still suffering due to bad leadership,” said Ms Sarah Wanjiru.
When he is in Nakuru City, it is not easy to trace him because he interacts and mixes freely with wananchi, sometimes donning shorts and open shoes.
From opposing the relocation of hawkers from Nakuru town’s CBD in 2015, the MP has been caught up in numerous chaotic incidents.
He has however retained the seat since 2013.