By JOSEPH MUCHIRI

Meru, Kenya: As The National Alliance party and the Alliance Party of Kenya jostle for supremacy in Tharaka-Nithi County, one thing stands unique in this year’s election: It is a vote to mark the start of an end of years of marginalisation.

Residents of this county can’t just wait for the next month’s transition elections which they see as marking its liberation and one that would give them a chance to be heard by the Government because since independence the region has never produced a Cabinet minister.

Tharaka-Nithi residents perceive the coming of devolved governments as the magic wand that will bring the much desired autonomy from being lumped together as part of the larger Meru. Before the coming of the counties, the area was part of the larger Meru amid a feeling among residents of being marginalised.

Since 1963, Tharaka-Nithi has never had a Cabinet minister but whenever the issue of concentration of plum Government appointments in the Mt Kenya region comes to the fore, they are said to be beneficiaries. Residents take it as a fallacy because in reality it is Meru Central – Imenti –  that has benefited from slices of power but not Tharaka-Nithi.

Meru Central has produced the big names in Government including former Finance minister David Mwiraria, Jackson Angaine, former Police Commissioner Mathew Iteere, former Head of Public Service and Secretary to the Cabinet Francis Muthaura, and Energy minister and APK party leader Kiraitu Murungi.

Political analysts say this has left Tharaka-Nithi to wallow in grinding poverty that has persisted to date.

“Residents of Tharaka-Nithi now feel it is their time to emancipate themselves from the Meru dominance. They want to chart their own future like steering development projects which at the moment are concentrated in Meru Central,” says Charles Gitonga, a political commentator.

Meanwhile, the race for various political seats in the county boils down to the supremacy battle between Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta’s TNA and Kiraitu’s APK parties.

Calls for Bloc vote

Just like in neighbouring Embu and Meru counties, APK has a massive following in Tharaka-Nithi and has fielded candidates in virtually every seat with several expected to win.

In fact, while on tour of the region last week Uhuru appealed to the citizens of the three counties, referred to as Mt Kenya East region, not to divide their votes.

Uhuru pointed out that electing leaders in the Senate and Parliament from other small parties will not benefit them, adding that they have to ensure they will be part of the next government.

Kiraitu formed his APK party last year intending to have Uhuru vie for president on it but the plans collapsed when the DPM formed TNA, which he would later use as his ticket to State House.

TNA die-hard supporters in the region like assistant ministers Cecily Mbarire (Tourism) and Kareke Mbiuki (Agriculture) have been urging the electorate to vote en masse for TNA candidates on virtue that it would make the party stronger if it forms the next government.

Kiraitu and his deputy party leader Lenny Kivuti have consistently argued that TNA supporters should leave the region to decide who to cast their votes to.

 “Our opponents have now resorted to trading propaganda against us by saying that we are in the Coalition of Reforms and Democracy (led by Prime Minister Raila Odinga, Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka and Trade minister Moses Wetangula). This is untrue and meant to confuse our supporters. We have left it to Uhuru to decide who his friends are,” said Kivuti recently.

The race for the area governorship has attracted new comers in the political arena most of whom have a background in administration and financial management – a key skill that the governor needs to possess to effectively manage the county.

Those in the race for the gubernatorial seat include a former chief executive officer of Chogoria Mission Samuel Ragwa (TNA),  a former intelligence officer Petkay Miriti (Unity Party of Kenya) and Wiper Democratic Movement coordinator Francis Kijogi Kabisani who hails from Kithanya village in Tharaka South district.

Those in senatorial race include Kindiki Kithure, the law professor who represented Eldoret North MP William Ruto at the International Criminal Court (TNA), Kaburu Njeru (APK), and former Nithi MP Francis Kagwima (ODM).

Like in all counties with various communities represented by dominant numbers, there were calls to share top county seats among the three constituencies in Tharaka-Nithi – Tharaka, Maara and Nithi.

Under the informal agreement, Tharaka would produce a senator, Chuka-Igambang’ombe (Nithi) a governor and Maara a women representative.

Kabisani heavily criticised the proposal, saying an earlier arrangement had been dishonoured. He said the informal pact fell through after Maara constituency produced candidates for the governor and senate seat while Chuka-IgambaNg’ombe also lined up women representative seat aspirants.

County’s two Faces

“When we (Tharaka constituency) realised we had been take in for a ride, we said it was better for democracy to prevail. Others broke the agreement while we watched hence we can’t respect it,” said Kabisani.

The first county government will have to work extra hard to eradicate poverty in the region which has two faces; the Nithi side which is mostly agriculturally productive and the Tharaka side which is mostly dry and only livestock production takes place there.

Meru enjoys better road       networks, water supply, health facilities and is considered wealthy mainly from miraa (khat) whereas the same infrastructure and resources are non-existent in Tharaka-Nithi.

Gitonga says now the residents feel they will be able to have a fair share of development resources and plan and execute their projects without the ‘supervision’ of Meru.

Gitonga says among the issues the pioneer leaders of the county government should give leading priority to are solving land and border disputes.

People of the border between Katiithine rural market in Tigania East and Tharaka North have been engaged in a tug of war over its ownership with each group claiming it is their ancestral land.

Tigania East is in Meru while Tharaka North is in Tharaka-Nithi.

The decades-old dispute has precipitated deaths, destruction of property and stalling of development projects.

The feud is said to have disrupted the building of a police post and installation of electricity at the Katiithine market in 2008.

The dispute between the two sub-tribes has fueled tension during election times and politicians from both sides have capitalised on it to win votes.

Various attempts have been made to settle the dispute.

Location of Offices

In 1995 Njuri Ncheke council of elders went round the larger Meru region marking all the boundaries but their efforts was made fruitless by political interference.

In 2009, a task force led by former PS Zachary Ogongo recommended the adjudication of the land and for people to get title deeds to settle the dispute, however, the process has never been completed.

The location of the headquarters of the county government is a contentious issue. Some people are for Chuka town where Chuka University is located and most infrastructures are at hand while others feel land in Chuka town is expensive.

Last month the transition authority published an advert in local dailies indicating that Chuka town will house the county headquarters during the transition period.

This was disputed and criticised by a section of leaders who reiterated that they had settled for Kathwana and there was no way they would allow anyone to change the plans.

Those proposing for Kathwana argue that it is centrally located with plenty of land.

Already some 100 acres of land have been set aside for the capital in Kathwana and a further 500 acres earmarked for an international airport.

The airport is expected to transform the fortunes of the county by enabling direct export means of agricultural products.

The tribe factor

Attributes that will endear the contestants to the electorate and ultimately largely determine who the county managers become include one’s track record, experience, education, policies and performance.

The sub-tribe factor may also play a role in determining the outcome with the balance tilted to the most populous.

Tharaka-Nithi County is composed of four sub-tribes – the Tharakas (treated as distinct in the 2009 census), Chuka, Mwimbi and Muthambi.