Hon. Geoffrey Ole Parpai remained loyal to Mwai Kibaki and the Democratic Party (DP) starting in 1991, even when Maasailand was predominantly KANU. During the 1992 election, John Keen, the DP Secretary-General, ran against KANU’s George Saitoti for the Kajiado North seat, while Parpai contested the Kajiado South seat against Singaru. These two were Kibaki’s key loyalists in Maasailand. Both DP candidates lost under questionable circumstances: Saitoti received 18,940 votes to Keen’s 8,242 in Kajiado North, and Singaru received 12,292 votes to Parpai’s 9,383 in Kajiado South.
John Keen later defected to KANU, but Parpai remained loyal to Kibaki and the DP. In 1997, Parpai surprised many KANU officials by winning the Kajiado South seat, previously considered a KANU stronghold. As a reward for his loyalty, when Kibaki won the presidency in 2002, Parpai was appointed to a ministerial position. Unfortunately, soon after his appointment, Parpai fell ill and spent seven months in hospitals both locally and overseas before passing away in August 2003.
A subsequent by-election was held, and 30-year-old Kato Ole Metito won the seat. Metito now serves as the State House Comptroller.
