Embu governor’s proverbial nine lives

By FRANCIS NGIGE  and JOSEPH MUCHIRI

Embu, Kenya: Besieged Embu Governor Martin Nyaga Wambora may rue the day he decided to contest the gubernatorial seat.

When the soft-spoken politician quit his job as Kenya Airports Authority chairman, his initial intention was to vie for the Runyenjes parliamentary seat, which had earlier been grabbed from his jaws by Cecily Mbarire.

Many would argue that Wambora indeed has the proverbial nine lives, having survived two impeachment bids. But from his body language, and his public speech, the gubernatorial seat is giving him sleepless nights.

He has been shoved from one court to another while the Senate and his County Assembly in Embu are not giving him breathing space either.

Two impeachment motions in a span of three months is not something Wambora had envisaged when he romped home after elections.

By the time he was quitting in readiness for the 2013 General Election, he had set the ground for a bruising battle with Mbarire who had outwitted him in the 2007 election.

Stakes were so high that the election fever had gripped the constituency just months before election and voters were waiting for the renewal of the rivalry between Wambora and Mbarire.

But as he prepared for the constituency battle, there was behind the scene manouvres to have him abandon his quest for Runyenjes for a bigger pie-the Embu governorship.

He was convinced being the county chief executive officer was more important than a parliamentary seat. And after all he had already served as Runyenjes MP for a term.

What happened after the March 4, 2013 elections must have convinced Wambora that he made the right choice, but a year in office, the decision to abandon Runyenjes for bigger things has returned to haunt him. The MCAs he is supposed to be working with are hunting him down, sparing no effort to ensure he is barred from holding any public office for at least 10 years.

Wambora, whose demeanour does not betray him as overbearing, has been met with resistance propelling him into the national limelight for all wrong reasons. He has blamed his troubles on political intrigues involving leaders in Mt Kenya East region as well as the rivalry between The National Alliance (TNA) and Alliance Party of Kenya (APK).

“These are well orchestrated schemes to undermine my leadership by some selfish leaders. They have become better and accusing me of impropriety, we know who is behind all these,” said Wambora.

Initially, Wambora was eyeing the seat on an APK ticket and was campaigning side by side with the party’s senatorial aspirant Lenny Kivuti, gubernatorial aspirant Kithinji Kiragu and women representative aspirant Eusebia Warue.

They formed a formidable team armed with an immense financial muscle and popularity was sure to show dust to other parties in the county and carry the day in all the seats.

Received endorsement

At the time, Wambora received endorsements from various quarters, including a highly publicised one by Nyangi Ndiiriri Council of Elders, who gave him a spear and a shield to symbolise his fight with Mbarire.

It is claimed Mbarire feared she would be easily trampled down by Wambora and to defend her seat, she sought the indulgence of well placed figures at TNA, who invited Wambora over to the party to vie for Embu governor with their support.

The rest is history, and the announcement that Wambora was running for Embu gubernatorial seat on a TNA ticket was made by none other than President Uhuru Kenyatta himself. Overnight, APK was dealt a big blow and its campaign paled in comparison to the TNA, culminating into Kiragu and Warue losing the gubernatorial and women representative seats respectively. This is said to have infuriated APK leaders and could explain the frosty and aloof attitude that has prevailed between the Embu Governor and his senator.

Fast forward to May 2014, when Wambora is fighting a second round of impeachment and he has implicated Kivuti of masterminding it since Wambora ditched APK for TNA. Contributing to Wambora’s second impeachment debate at the Senate, Kivuti and APK leader Kiraitu Murungi denied being behind his ouster attempt. Kivuti even pointed out that he had tried to reconcile Wambora with MCAs through a platform attended by other county leaders and the clergy. He abstained from voting to uphold the impeachment.

“Those are pure lies, there is no APK hand in the impeachment of senator Wambora, who is my friend. There is nothing like we are trying to punish him because he jumped out of the bus,” said Kiraitu.

Wambora also accused National Assembly Speaker Justine Muturi and Embu County Assembly Speaker Kariuki Mate of being behind his woes with the intent to annihilate the Embu community in senior county political leadership so that the Mbeere can take over. Mate, however, rubbished the claims, saying he had nothing personal against Wambora and was just doing his job, an “occupational hazard”.

Wambora’s supporters have gone to court to stop his impeachment, saying the MCAs did not consult them yet the Constitution stipulates public participation in passing such of laws. They also argued that nominated MCAs should not vote to impeach a democratically elected governor, claiming that most of the MCAs are from the Mbeere side, which is plotting to impeach Wambora.

Mbeere North has three elected MCAs and five nominated ones. Mbeere South has five elected MCAs and three nominated.

In Embu side, Runyenjes has six elected and three nominated MCAs while Manyatta received only two nomination slots despite having six elected MCAs.