Njee Muturi, Kariuki Mate deny plotting Wambora's downfall

By FRANCIS NGIGE and Stephen Makabila

Kenya: Although it is the Members of the Embu County Assembly who have put up a spirited fight to remove Governor Martin Wambora from office, it is Speaker Kariuki Mate who has been the main actor.

His name has featured frequently amid claims he was being used by powerful leaders to bring down Wambora, a claim he denies.

He has been conspicuous as the long drawn battle was fought in the local assembly as well as the courts.

But who is this man shaking the high and mighty? Unknown to many, the youthful Embu County Assembly Speaker cut his political teeth over a decade ago. Before he burst into the limelight for presiding over Wambora’s impeachment, Mate was not known beyond the enclaves of the county.

Little was known about him but for close followers of the country’s politics, Mate is a household name having entered into the scene in 2002, when Uhuru Kenyatta first vied for the presidency.

To those who know him, Mate is a suave political operative who despite not coming from an influential background, managed to dine with the who is who in the Kenyan political scene.

Although he never fully participated in the Uhuru presidential campaign in 2002, his employment by the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC) saw him develop interest in politics.

In last year’s election, Mate deputised Njee Muturi (the current Solicitor General) at The National Alliance (TNA) campaign secretariat. Being a close ally of National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi, who was then the Siakago MP, saw him cut a niche above the rest.

He served as Muturi’s personal assistant at a time when he (Muturi) was the Opposition Chief Whip.

 “I can tell you we have walked together with these leaders and it is them who inspired me to run for public office,” said Mate.

But what is his role in the current infighting among leaders in Embu that has seen Wambora impeached twice?

“My role is absolutely official! Presiding over the county assembly, as a speaker I’m neutral and listen to both sides. Those claims that I am involved in the plotting for Wambora’s downfall are utter rubbish and far fetched,” Mate told The Standard on Sunday.

Muturi also sought to set the record straight, saying Wambora should be greatful for the political support he (Muturi) has offered him before, instead of trying to soil his name.

Muturi says he has no political interest in the larger Embu county to warrant his meddling in grassroots politics. “I am among those who brought Wambora to TNA. How do I turn around and fight him? Posed Muturi, who hails from Embu .

Wambora who was for the second time impeached by the Senate on Tuesday had earlier shifted blame on Muturi and Embu County Senator Lenny Kivuti (from the Mbeere community) over his political woes.

While Muturi and Wambora belong to the TNA party, Kivuti is a member of the Alliance Party of Kenya (APK) whose leader is Meru Senator Kiraitu Murungi. Kivuti and Kiraitu had on Tuesday distanced themselves from accusations by the governor that  they were  the architects of his woes for quitting  their ‘Bus’ party.

By his impeachment, Wambora has gone down into history as the first ever governor to lose his position after two impeachment processes, and put Embu on the national political limelight since late last year. The impeachment has also seen two motions lined up in the National Assembly, with the intend of cutting the powers of MCAs.