I want to be Ruto's running mate, says young graduate

A sister to missing security expert Mwenda Mbijjiwe is appealing to Deputy President William Ruto to make her his running mate.

In a bold step, even while knowing that the running mate debate might be a concluded matter, 23-year-old Daisy Mbijjiwe says she wants to be DP Ruto’s running mate

“I see Ruto as the best (president) for Kenya,” Daisy says, attributing her choice to the DP’s dream to empower impoverished Kenyans. Her political dream is to be deputy president after bowing out of a parliamentary contest at the age of 18.

Daisy, Mbijjiwe’s younger sister, withdrew from the Buuri Parliamentary race in 2017 since Mbijjiwe was running for governor. Mbijiwe later also withdrew at the eleventh hour in favour of former Governor Peter Munya.

Mr Mbijjiwe went missing on June 12, last year as he drove to his home in Meru from Nairobi.

He was to visit his family, including his mother Jane Gatwiri at Sirimon in Buuri. The hired car he was using was found abandoned in Kiambu County. Efforts to trace the 45-year-old man hit a dead end.

Daisy, who graduated from the University of Nairobi says she is a great supporter of Ruto’s bottom-up economic model. 

“I am an ordinary Kenyan, I know the issues and the challenges an ordinary Kenyan is facing. Looking at Dr Ruto’s economic model I feel his main target is to empower them,” she said. 

Though she has never met Ruto in person, she recently attended one of his rallies in Githurai in Nairobi.

“I have never met him one on one but I have attended one of his meetings in Nairobi very recently. If I had a chance to meet him the first thing I would consider is youth inclusion. In his bottom-up model, I would suggest youth should be empowered to create first employment through their diverse innovations,” she said.