Inside Politics

Kuria move to run for top Kiambu post stirs matrix

Tuesday, March 1st, 2022 06:03 | By
Gatundu South Member of Parliarment Moses Kuria has broken his silence after President Uhuru Kenyatta promised to support Raila Odinga in the 2022 presidential polls.
Gatundu South Member of Parliament Moses Kuria. PHOTO/File

Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria’s entry into the race for Kiambu governorship may affect the fortunes of several other aspirants for the seat.

The legislator, who is the leader of Chama Cha Kazi, is from Kiambu East which comprises five densely populated constituencies of Ruiru, Juja, Thika, Gatundu South and Gatundu North. His move will certainly change the political arena and possibly make his competitors go back to the drawing board. 

In the now crowded contest, Kuria will face incumbent James Nyoro, Senator Kimani Wamatangi former governors  William Kabogo and Ferdinand Waititu, agriculturist Mwende Gatabaki (who is the founder of Africa Aquaculture Development Company), Thika Town MP Patrick Wainaina ‘Jungle’,  former County Executive Committee member and university lecturer  Juliet Kimemia, Kiambu County Assembly Speaker Stephen Ndicho and Agnes Ndung’u, a social and community development worker.

As campaigns intensify, Kiambu West and East regional politics will be at play, since candidates who have declared interest in the seat hail from the two sides.

The county draws most of its revenue from Kiambu East, which consists of major towns such as Thika, Ruiru, Juja and Githurai. The region also has a high concentration of industries. 

Kiambu West comprises Kiambu Town, Limuru, Kikuyu, Lari, Kiambaa, Githunguri and Kabete constituencies.

Out of the 10 aspirants eyeing the governorship, five of them: Kuria, Kabogo, Wainaina, Ndicho and Kimemia, are from the eastern part of the county, which means they are likely to share nearly half of the over 1.2 million votes.

This could favour aspirants from Kiambu West - Nyoro, Wamatangi and Waititu (whose candidature hangs in the balance pending graft cases against him and a recent High Court ruling that a person who had gone through impeachment is unfit to contest any elective post.

Should Waititu fail to reach the ballot stage, this would leave Nyoro and Wamatangi to fight it out for the huge chunk of votes from this equally populous part of the county.

Although Ndicho and Kabogo have roots in the Githunguri constituency, where they were born, they are regarded as residents of Kiambu East where they became MPs of the larger Juja constituency at different times before it was split into three.

Kuria, who returned to Kenya a week ago after medical treatment in Dubai for nearly four months, had earlier said he would not seek any elective post in the August 9, 2022 elections. But in a post on his official Facebook page, the CCK leader said he had bowed to pressure from his supporters to announce his political position.

“I have been receiving many queries about my political future. What do you want me to be after August 9, 2022?” the MP posed.

Kuria will vie on anCCK banner, which will field candidates in other elective slots except for the presidency.

In another twist, Wainaina — who withdrew from Deputy President William Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA) barely two months after joining it — is set to launch The National Party (TNP) on which he is expected to contest the seat.

He dismissed as propaganda a poster in social media groups purporting that he has quit the race in favour of Kuria. “I’m firmly in the contest and we shall launch our new political vehicle soon,” said ‘Jungle’.

Nyoro is expected to vie on a Jubilee Party ticket, or any of the parties in the Azimio coalition, while Wamatangi is yet to declare his vehicle for election. Ndicho said he would seek a UDA ticket, which Waititu will also be fighting for.

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