Did NASA candidate Raila Odinga subtly endorse Martha Karua for Kirinyaga governor's seat?

• Raila Odinga was on Anne Waiguru's case again during the presidential debate
• Anne Waiguru is the former Devolution Cabinet Secretary
• She was forced to resign after multiple attacks from the opposition, more specifically the NYS issue being the centre of debate.
  

Raila Odinga used the presidential debate to launch a fresh attack on Kirinyaga governorship candidate Anne Waiguru over the NYS scandal.

While investigations by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) have exonerated Waiguru from any culpability, Raila Odinga seems not to have let it go.

He accused President Uhuru Kenyatta of going easy on Waiguru during her time as Devolution Cabinet Secretary, disregarding the fact that she resigned following his (Raila) incessant attacks on her as a person and her family.

Political pundits claim that Raila’s remarks were a calculated move to lead the little support he enjoys in Kirinyaga towards his close ally and the NARC Kenya leader Martha Karua.

In the latest polls by TIFA, 1% of the voters in Kirinyaga said they would vote for Raila Odinga against 93% who said they would vote for President Uhuru Kenyatta with 6% of the voters still undecided.

Strategists however see Raila’s utterances as a self-defeating move that would only work to gather more support for Waiguru.

In a country where we react to self-criticism better than condemnation from outside forces, Kenyans have a tendency of coming to the defense of one of their own.

How Kenyans united against Botswana when they said they would not allow President Uhuru Kenyatta to visit the country due to the ICC case, hit out at CNN following a report prior to the 2013 elections that a militia group was being trained to cause chaos and against the UK over travel advisories just signifies how protective we are of our own.

Similar cases have been witnessed in local politics where each region comes to the defense of its leaders whenever they face attack from “outside” forces.

Raila’s attack on Waiguru was therefore interpreted as a subtle endorsement of Karua which automatically brands her as a “friend of NASA”.

Already the Minji Minji wave in Kirinyaga is growing exponentially, thanks to President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto’s calls for Jubilee supporters to cast a six-piece vote in the August 8 elections, and the faux pas by Raila only makes things better for the Jubilee candidate.

Already, Raila’s close association with Karua is making things difficult for the former Gichugu MP.

The polls by TIFA gave Waiguru a 55% lead over Karua who had 35% with the Jubilee candidate expressing confidence of surpassing the 80% mark come August 8 elections.

Of those who said they would not vote for Karua, 12% said it is because she has been in opposition with Raila Odinga, fighting President Uhuru Kenyatta.