Battle for Kirinyaga County Leadership
Kirinyaga county is one of the counties that currently has top cream leaders eyeing for the gubernatorial seat. The current governor Ann Waiguru has interest to go for the second time but her current political turbulence seems might lead her to loose. NARC party leader Hon. Martha Karua is also on the race for 2022 gubernatorial seat and her bargaining power raised recently when she was elected the Mt. Kenya chairperson. She was elected to be a convener to bring together Mt. Kenya leaders into a common goal and consolidate leadership.
Kirinyaga Women Representative Hon. Purity Ngirici also has interest for the same seat and is a close ally of the Deputy President Hon. William Ruto. It is with no doubt that she will contest for the seat on a UDA ticket. Kirinyaga people is said to have accepted UDA party(hustler nation movement) to lead them during the next year general elections. UDA party has a blue brint Bottom-Up economic model which they use as their campaign agenda. The model is targeting those people on the lower side of the economic model, to support them and grow the economy together from there.
In the past few days, in a public rally held in Kirinyaga, Governor Ann Waiguru said she will follow the voices of Kirinyaga people. She even went ahead to ask the people their decisions on which party ticket they would like her to come with so that they return her for gubernatorial seat. The crowd in unison shouted they want her to come with UDA. If at all she will follow the voices of the people, that is, join UDA, then she will have to battle it out with Women Rep Purity Ngirici at the party primaries nomination.
Governor Waiguru has urged NARC party leader Hon. Martha Karua to concentrate on national politics and leave the gubernatorial seat to them. Ann Waiguru made a statement few weeks firing shots on BBI initiative that they didn’t involve the people in the formation of BBI. Immediately after the statement, EACC raided her for corruption investigation and with her was ANC secretary general Hon. Ayub Savula to offer support. Savula said she was courting her to join ANC but party leader Hon. Musalia Mudavadi said the statement was personal and didn’t represent party interest.
Therefore, should Martha Karua continue with her interest for gubernatorial seat, she will have to battle with the two. As it is now, it is not yet known whether Ann Waiguru will join UDA or go for another party since Purity Ngirici is there waiting for her in the party primaries if she chooses UDA. Hence, Kirinyaga gubernatorial seat will be a battle between the three powerful women.
