Epic battle for Kirinyaga governor's seat as Martha Karua throws hat in ring

Narc-Kenya leader Martha Karua has declared her intention to run for the Kirinyaga governor’s seat, avoiding the costly campaigns for the presidency.

Ms Karua’s announcement, which caught many by surprise, has set the stage for an epic battle for the seat that has also attracted former Devolution Cabinet Secretary Anne Waiguru.

Besides incumbent Governor Joseph Ndathi who is seeking re-election, Kenya’s ambassador to the US Njeru Githae, Kirinyaga Central MP Gachoki Gitari and businessman Bedan Kagai have also declared interest in the seat.

On Wednesday, Ms Karua sought to downplay her decision to drop out of the presidential race in favour of the governorship and said she will make a formal announcement in two weeks.

“That is still a side issue. We will meet on the ground to make the announcement,” she said.

The decision comes weeks after she told Mombasa residents she would again be gunning for the presidency, a race she lost to President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2013.

PULL OUT OF PRESIDENTIAL RACE

Signs that Ms Karua will pull out of the presidential race in favour of the governor’s position started to emerge last week.

Sources revealed that the Narc-K leader, who joined her opposition colleagues Raila Odinga (ODM), Kalonzo Musyoka (Wiper) and Musalia Mudavadi (ANC) in a meeting with a European Union delegation, informed them that she will not be attending those engagements regularly because she had decided contest for the governor’s position.

She was quoted saying she was short of “resources and capacity” to fight for the presidency.

It is significant that Ms Karua’s announcement comes two weeks after fellow former presidential candidate Peter Kenneth pulled out of the presidential race and announced that he will vie for a governor’s seat.

He didn’t say whether he will vie in Nairobi or Murang’a County.

Unlike Mr Kenneth, who said he will support the re-election of President Kenyatta, Ms Karua has not indicated her choice.

WAIGURU WELCOMES DECISION

Ms Waiguru and Mr Gitari have welcomed the decision and said the final say on who will be elected governor rests with the people of Kirinyaga.

“She is welcome. It is her democratic right and she will soon realise that the people are with me. We are not worried as we have the support of the people,” said Ms Waiguru.

Mr Gitari, who succeeded Ms Karua as Gichugu MP, said: “She should know the ground has shifted.”

Ms Karua announced on Twitter that she would use her Narc-Kenya party to run for the seat in a region where Mr Kenyatta’s TNA, which recently merged into Jubilee Party, swept all elected seats in 2013.

Ms Karua served as the Gichugu MP for four terms.

Incidentally, her entry in the race complicates matters for Ms Waiguru and Governor Ndathi.

SPLIT GICHUGU VOTE

They all come from Gichugu and could split the vote, giving room for a candidate from the larger Ndia.

Kirinyaga has four major constituencies with 264,395 votes registered by April this year.

They include Mwea (87,320 voters), Kirinyaga Central (59,898), Ndia (51,162) and Gichugu (66,015).

Traditionally, the Ndia, who comprise the Kirinyaga Central and Gichugu blocs are rivals and each vote for their candidate to a man.

Mwea has a diversified population that includes Ndia, Gichugu and Kiambu natives and produces the swing vote.

Also, Ms Karua brings strengths and weaknesses to the race.

She is well-known to many voters due to her four terms as Gichugu MP and a minister in the Kibaki government.

She also initiated water projects in the constituency that made her popular with women.

“She can make it if she changes her political stance and tows the Uhuru line,” said Woman Rep aspirant Wangui Ngirichi, a flamboyant trader who is campaigning using choppers.

CORD LIABILITY

Indeed, political analysts and MPs interviewed by the Nation said Ms Karua’s biggest liability will be her party of choice and her association with Cord.

Ms Karua has indicated that she will vie on a Narc-Kenya ticket in what is considered a pre-dominantly Jubilee zone.

In 2013, all contestants were voted in on TNA tickets.

Ms Karua received only 2,438 votes from Kirinyaga when she ran for President in 2013.

This was against the president’s 231,868.

“She will make an impact if she dissolves her party and joins Jubilee. Otherwise it will be a tall order,” said John Mithamo, an aspirant for the Ndia seat and a KTDA director.

The same sentiment is shared by Tana and Athi Rivers Development Authority (Tarda) Director Mureithi Kang’ara.

But the iron lady, as she was known due to her defence of Kibaki in 2007, is a fighter who has felled political giants in the area.

She made her entry in 1997 by defeating Kirinyaga kingpin Geoffrey Kareithi and is famous for walking out on former president Daniel Moi in Kerugoya after she was denied a chance to talk.

But this time it will not be a walk in the pack.