Dancan Githiga, the man who’s wanted to become Kangema MP since 2002
Dancan Githiga has been in the race to capture the Kangema parliamentary seat for the past 20 years but his failure to get elected has not dampened his spirit.
Githiga who is running on Usawa kwa wote party ticket is among six candidates who are eyeing the seat in the August polls.
An accountant by profession, he believes he is the best candidate to take over from the outgoing member of parliament Muturi Kigano pledging to bring change in leadership and transform the lives of the residents.
Githiga lost to Michuki
He first vied for the seat in 2002 on a KANU ticket but he lost to the former Member of Parliament, the late John Michuki.
In 2007, he took a break and came back in 2012 when, on The National Alliance (TNA) party, he lost in the primaries. He claimed to have been rigged out in the primaries and bowed out.
In 2017 his quest to secure the Jubilee party ticket was quashed and this time too, he did not seek an alternative platform to vie for the seat.
Githiga is however hopeful that this time around, he will carry the day and implement the agenda he has for the people of Kangema.
“I have been in the public and private sectors and I have acquired a lot of knowledge which I can use to help transform the lives of Kangema residents,” he said.
He said he would like to bring back the Michuki leadership style adding that the late legislator was able to fight for the interests of his people and that it was during his tenure that the constituency had many development projects established.
“I always admired his style of leadership and I would like to follow in the footsteps of this man (the late Michuki). He was the best we will ever have,” he remarked.
He said he is seeking the seat to help spearhead development for the people of Kangema, noting that the area has been on a downward trend and that something needs to be done about it.
Githiga's agenda
Top of his agenda, he says, is education where he will seek to modify the sector to bring better outcomes for the learners. “I have a plan to boost the education standards in the area where we will be able to produce learners who are equipped with skills to make them self-reliant,” he added.
“Education in Kangema has been on a downward trend. I want to change the situation,” he said.
In agriculture, he said he will focus on tea, coffee, and dairy sectors to make them more profitable to the residents who rely on them for livelihood.
His plan, he said would be to revive the Mt.Kenya parliamentary group which will help lobby for better policies to facilitate better returns to the farmers.
Small traders, infrastructure, and youth are other key areas that he said he will address if elected as the area MP.
Outside the political circles, he has been doing various projects aimed at empowering the locals among them building tea collection centres for the farmers, initiating table banking for women groups, and lobbying for water and electricity projects in various places.
“All the projects I have done for the people are out of goodwill and passion but I’m now looking for an opportunity to serve them better,” he said.
Education and career
Githiga has a Bachelor’s degree in Accounts, Business Administration, and a PhD in Business Administration. He has served in various organizations among them KCB, East Africa Industries, East Africa Portland cement, and Premier dairies in Kericho.
He has also served as one of the board of directors at the Agriculture Finance Corporation and Kenya Medica Training Centre. And he has been a facilitator for corporate governance and leadership for 11 years.
“One of my biggest achievements was to revive the Premier dairies factory which was almost collapsing. It is still running to date,” he said
In private business, he is a partner in the Githiga Mwangi and Associates Company.
