When the Kanu Young Turks led by Cabinet Ministers Uhuru visited Kerugoya-Kutus Constituency in March to raise funds for Gakoigo Anglican Church, their message was loud and clear – the need to support one of their own to capture the parliamentary seat.

They said time was ripe for the young people to take up leadership and shape the political destiny of the country. In fact, they spoke well of a youthful former banker Newton Njiru Munene, leaving no doubt that he was Kanu's choice for the Kerugoya-Kutus seat. 

If he gets the Kanu ticket as expected, Mr Munene, a former Central Bank of Kenya employee, will battle it out with the incumbent, Mr Matere Keriri, a confidant of Democratic Party chairman and National Rainbow Coalition (Narc) presidential candidate Mwai Kibaki.

Mr Munene, a prominent businessman, thinks he is well placed to win. But even with Uhuru Kenyatta as the ruling party's flag bearer, Mr Munene will have a hard time selling Kanu in the constituency. He also faces accusations that he is aloof and a stranger in the constituency. 

His endorsement by the Young Turks also did not go down well with local Kanu veterans such as former district Kanu kingpin, Mr James Njiru, who is trying to make a comeback after years of flirting with the opposition. 

At the harambee, Mr Njiru, who has reclaimed branch Kanu leadership, was only given a chance to "greet and welcome the visitors," much to the astonishment and chagrin of his supporters.

The former Cabinet Minister has been a long serving MP for the former larger Ndia constituency, out of which Kerugoya-Kutus was curved.

He first entered Parliament in 1969 at the age of 28 and served until 1983.

After a five years hiatus, Mr Njiru bounced back and was appointed Minister for Political Affairs and National Guidance. He emerged a powerful minister but that also set him in conflict with many people, earning him enemies across the country.

Even before, he is remembered for his perennial rivalry with Mr Nahashon Njuno, who came from a neighbouring constituency, with whom he conflicted in public on a number of occasions.

Mr Njiru's political influence, however, started diminishing towards the end of 1980s and by the advent of multi-party politics in the early 90s, he had fallen out of favour with Kanu power brokers.

Before Mr Munene, 36, entered the race, Mr Njiru had been engaged in battle with another seasoned politician, Mr John Ngata Kariuki of Sarova Hotels. Each of them wanted to be Mr Kenyatta's point man in the district. 

Mr Kariuki, who is also a former branch chairman and the party's candidate in 1997, is also seeking Kanu's ticket. 

A fierce fight for the Kanu ticket could ensure that Mr Keriri sits pretty, but he is by no means unchallenged for the Narc ticket. He can expect a stiff fight from a long list of candidates. One of them is Mr Gaciani Murage, a retired deputy commissioner of customs.

Although a newcomer, Mr Murage, 54, is likely to make an impact with his record of contribution towards local development projects.

Also aiming for the Narc ticket is a former National Security Fund boss Lazarus Mugo.

He came second at the 1997 elections, having contested on the Kenya National Congress ticket. 

Another contender is former MP Kinyua Mbui, who lost the DP nomination to Mr Keriri. He later switched camps and contested the seat on Social Democratic Party. He came third at the polls.

Other contenders for the Narc ticket include a former principal of Nairobi's Highway Secondary School Daniel Karaba. As former head of the Central Province headteachers association and founder-member of African Conference of Principals, Mr Karaba will be hoping to get a boost form the influential teaching fraternity. 

Also gunning for the same ticket is Kerugoya town businessmen Mr Francis Karimi and Michael Kabuga.

While the battle will be between Narc and Kanu, Ford People will also be in the race, fielding a youthful economist Patrick Maina King'uru. 

The man to beat will be Mr Keriri, a long-time Kibaki confidant from his civil service days. 

He has also been involved in the talks that led to creation of the National Alliance for Change (NAC) the National Alliance Party of Kenya (NAK) and ultimately Narc.

The veteran politician is confident that he will retain the Kerugoya-Kutus seat.

But he has to answer to the charge that no meaningful development has been recorded during his tenure. His stock reply to this is that the area has been marginalised because of Kanu's discriminative agenda against opposition strongholds.

He is also being accused of using his links with Mr Kibaki to win Narc's nomination unfairly.

The issues that need to be addressed are poor infrastructure, declining agricultural productivity and poor educational facilities.

These are the issues that Mr Munene and Mr Kariuki say they want to focus on.

In the final analysis, the race for the seat will be determined by the party and the direction the presidential elections will take.