Central owes no one, says Karua

• Mudavadi had asked for region’s support to ‘return’ his favour

Narc Kenya’s leader Martha Karua on Monday said central Kenya voters do not owe any presidential candidate a political favour and those asking the region to support them based on that assumption will fail.

Speaking at Kianjai, Nthimangiri and Muthara townships in Meru where she was campaigning, Ms Karua said such leaders were out to divide voters.

In an address that seemed targeted at Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi, Ms Karua said the region did not owe any candidate a “debt.”

A decade ago, Mr Mudavadi lost his Sabatia parliamentary seat for supporting Mr Uhuru Kenyatta’s presidential bid.

He has asked Mr Kenyatta to “return the favour” by endorsing his own presidential bid.

“We are standing tall and saying that this region does not owe any candidate any kind of debt. If anything, those saying that we owe them are the ones who owe us when they were in the government,” she said.

“During the reigns of Presidents Kenyatta and Moi, nobody said that a particular region required them to return a favour when their tenure ended. Then, why is it that some contenders are asking that we support their bids? Let them fight it out independently,” she said.

She accused some leaders of using their positions to benefit themselves at the expense of ordinary Kenyans who had voted for them.

The Gichugu MP, who is on a four-day tour of Meru County said the coalition government had been tainted with mega-scandals and pledged to fight corruption, if elected.

She said that both PNU and ODM lacked the will to fight corruption. Ms Karua defended her record as the Justice Minister, saying, she did all she could to fight graft.