COUNTY POLITICS: Gachagua’s shadow lurks in race for governor’s seat

On March 7 this year Nyeri town came alive as posters of individuals interested in the governor’s seat were pinned in strategic locations and branded vehicles deployed in the streets.

The date was no coincidence. It was one day after the burial of Governor Nderitu Gachagua.

But even in death, Gachagua's shadow is lurking in Nyeri politics, as the battle to succeed him intensifies.

ASPIRANT DISQUALIFIED
In the race is incumbent Samuel Wamathai, a former diplomat.

Mr Wamathai was Mr Gachagua’s deputy and, upon the latter’s death, was promptly sworn in.

Having tasted power, Mr Wamathai has now staked a claim to the seat and is going full out to claim it in the primaries and, if he wins, in the August 8 General Election.

Those seeking to make him the shortest serving governor include Senator Mutahi Kagwe, economist Wahome Gakuru, Thuo Mathenge and hotelier Patrick Kairu.

Mr Mathenge has however been disqualified from the race due to questions over his academic credentials.

VOTES ACROSS REGIONS
Industrialist Githinji "Cocoriko" Kinyanjui will be battling for the seat as an independent candidate, having defected from Jubilee today over what he termed as unfair nominations.

The key issues shaping the race are performance (or lack of it) of the current administration, perceived competence of the aspirants and their manifesto, voter demographics, Jubilee nominations, choice of running mates and ability to marshal resources.  

The battle for County seats is centering on the backyard of each candidate considering that some constituencies have a history of voting as a bloc.

According to the new voters’ register by Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), Kieni constituency is the biggest with 109,412 voters, Mathira 101,616, Nyeri Town has 85,523, Othaya 59,477, Mukurweini 54,612 and Tetu 50,919 voters.

Candidates for the seats then have to win big in Mathira, Kieni and Nyeri town constituencies to have a realistic chance.

IMPEACHMENT
Aspirants seek to portray themselves as having supported the late Gachagua or fought him, depending on which of the six constituencies they are campaigning in.

Mr Wamathai, for instance, is running a campaign of continuity and asking voters to back him so he can complete projects started by Mr Gachagua.

“Ni tano tena (another five years again) so we can deliver the mandate Nyeri people gave us,” he says.

Mr Kagwe, on the other hand, is in a quagmire.

Gachagua’s supporters accuse him of not defending him during the senate vote to impeach the late governor.

The senator abstained from voting.

KAGWE'S FAILURE

The late Gachagua’s critics also accuse Senator Kagwe of failing in his oversight role and not speaking out when graft permeated the county’s civil service.

“I spoke about what was happening in the county but I just never did it in the media. I engaged the late governor and MCAs directly,” Senator Kagwe says.

READ: Gachagua survives impeachment

The Gachagua family, through its de facto political leader Rigathi Gachagua, has thrown its weight behind both Senator Kagwe and the incumbent Mr Wamathai.

“We will, however, support whoever wins the Jubilee nominations as our priority is President Kenyatta’s re-election.

“It’s just that our supporters, especially in Mathira, lean towards the two,” Mr Rigathi, who is gunning for the Mathira parliamentary seat, says.

DEVELOPMENT RECORD
But Dr Gakuru, a former Vision 2030 director, and Mr Githinji have in the meantime accused the Gachaguas of political arrogance by endorsing candidates.

“Rigathi has not even won any seat yet. What gives him the audacity to start telling Nyeri people how to vote?” Dr Gakuru asks.

Mr Kinyanjui also rubbished the line-up provided by Mr Rigathi.

Factually, Mr Gachagua’s scorecard is mixed.

While he performed well in education due to bursaries and recarpeted some roads, the county’s development performance has been on a decline since 2014, reports by the Controller of Budget show.

POOR PERFORMANCE
According to the reports, Nyeri ranked among the bottom five in the last three consecutive financial years in terms of money spent to implement development projects.

The county’s development expenditure has only met the required threshold once during the three-year period.

In the 2016/ 2017 financial year, the county managed to attain the threshold by spending 30 per cent of the total budgetary allocation on projects.

However, it was still ranked last by the Controller of Budget. The total budget was Sh6.4 billion.

This was the lowest ranking for Nyeri, but a close look at the reports reveals a constant decline in development spending in comparison to 46 other counties.

During the 2014 fiscal year, Nyeri spent about 21 per cent of the total budgetary allocation on development, ranking it at fourth last above Nakuru, Embu and Nairobi counties.

POLITICAL EXPERIENCE
During the same year, the county had a budget estimate of Sh5.44 billion.

The poor development plan was mirrored in the 2015 financial year when the county was placed third last by the Controller of Budget, Agnes Odhiambo.

Out of Sh6.28 billion, only 27.7 per cent went into development as the rest was spent on recurrent expenditures.

All contestants have different strengths and weaknesses heading into the race.

Dr Gakuru has the brand name since he was the runners up in the last elections, which the late Gachagua won by 10,000 votes.

“I will concentrate on agriculture, revive our collapsing public health care and encourage investors in hospitality to set up shop here,” he says.

GAKURU BETRAYED
But his Achilles Heel is lack of resources, which cost him even during the 2013 elections.

His campaigners defected to the Gachagua camp the last minute, costing him the win.

“I have learnt my lessons. We have fundraised and are now working with trusted people,” he says.

Dr Gakuru has chosen teachers’ union boss Mutahi Kahiga as his running mate.

The move is to help him tap into votes in Kieni Constituency, the most populous of the six biggest constituencies. 

Mr Gakuru comes from Nyeri Town Constituency.

RUNNING MATES
Senator Kagwe, who is a former Mukurwe-ini MP, has also chosen his running mate from Kieni.

He settled on former Kieni MP aspirant Wainana Ndung’u alias ‘Ebenezer’.

While Mr Kagwe is a known political figure, his critics say as a senator, he did not do enough to stem wrangles in the county.

He has also been accused of not initiating projects during his senatorial tenure.

“Kagwe's role as a senator does not allow him to do that. But he is the best candidate for governor as he can manage its resources and uplift the people,” Athi Water Services chairman Wachira Keen says.

Mr Kagwe has promised to make ICT a key plank of his plans, including e-health, cable cars to attract tourists.

ASPIRANT'S AGENDA
Mr Kinyanjui, on the other hand, is an industrialist whose campaign has focused on value addition of agriculture products.

He has been donating milk processing mini-plants to groups.

A native of Mathira, he hopes to tap into the second biggest voting bloc to capture the seat.

He has eschewed associations and political groupings common in the county.

“I don’t campaign with others. They are hiding behind line-ups to cover for their inadequacies,” Mr Kinyanjui explains.

The incumbent Wamathai has several factors on his side.

'TOO SOFT'
He has been using power of incumbency to give scholarships to the poor and launch an ambitious road repair programme.

The normally quiet Wamathai has also gone on the political offensive by accusing Mr Kagwe of sabotaging him.

He has been lobbying for the withholding of funds to the county to cripple me,” Mr Wamathai claims. But Kagwe denied the accusation..

Mr Wamathai has picked County Executive for Education Karanja Muriuki from Mathira to make the race for the ticket, a Nyeri Town-Mathira combination.

“Mr Wamathai is too soft for this post. He is like a Bishop and may thus be prone to manipulation,” Benedict Warui Muthamini, an analyst who heads several football clubs in Nyeri, says.

NO VICTORY YET
All candidates except Mr Kairu are running on a Jubilee ticket. 

Thus on Wednesday, when the Jubilee nominations are held, will be key to them. Mr Kairu, the hotelier, is running on a DP ticket.

“But nominations rarely translate to wins in Nyeri. They only help you get 30 to 40 per cent of the vote,” Duncun Mathenge, a political analyst who is running for the Nyeri Town MP seat, opines.

But the battle may boil down to a contest between Mr Wamathai, Mr Kagwe, Mr Kinyanjui and Dr Gakuru.

Jubilee nominations will just be the dress rehearsals for candidates. August 8 remains the main act.