Raila Odinga picks Governor Nderitu Murithi as chair of his presidential campaigns

 

Laikipia Governor Ndiritu Murithi and Mrs Elizabeth Meyo who will be heading Raila Odinga's campaign team.

ODM leader Raila Odinga has appointed Laikipia Governor Ndiritu Murithi as the chair of his presidential campaigns.

Raila in a statement said he had also appointed Mrs Elizabeth Meyo as CEO of the campaign and secretary to the board.

The board will his presidential campaign engine that will drive his bid to succeed President Uhuru Kenyatta in the August general election.

Governor Murithi who is serving his first term is a former world bank economist and financial markets, expert with over 29 years of experience in leadership and management in the country.

Muithi si also the current finance, planning and economic affairs committee chairperson of the Council of Governors.

Upon his election, Muriithi embarked on radical reforms of the county public service to make it professional and globally competitive. These efforts have been rewarded with unmatched growth of the county's own source revenue which has doubled since the 2016/2017 financial year.

The governor is also credited with modernizing key towns of Laikipia under his Smart Towns Initiative funded partially by the World Bank's Urban Support and Devolution Support programs.

His appointment to head Raila’s campaign team is seen as a strategic move by the former Prime Minister to have the mountain vote on his side.

Several politicians from the larger Mt Kenya region have publicly declared their support for Raila.

On her side, Mrs Meyo is currently a consultant to the IMF, brings over three decades of administrative and strategic experience to the position.

She is the immediate former Commissioner of the Domestic Taxes Department at Kenya Revenue Authority.

During her tenure at the KRA, Meyo is said to have been pivotal in the KRA’s policy and strategy development for the country. She spearheaded the rollout of iTax which has revolutionised revenue collection in Kenya.

She holds a Masters in Law and a Masters in Finance as well as being a Corporate Governance expert. Elizabeth is also the chair of various school boards.

According to Raila, Mrs Meyo will be the overall chief executive of the campaign, implement its strategic and key decisions, head the campaign secretariat, and make all vital decisions.

She will be the sole campaign spokesperson.  

Raila is currently considered among the top contenders for the country’s presidency with sources indicating that fine-tuning a working arrangement between ODM and Jubilee is his top priority.

The African Union Special Envoy for Infrastructure has been working on logistics to roll out various campaign teams, including a recently unveiled lobby group dubbed “The Struggler’s Movement” aimed at rallying players in small and medium enterprises ahead of the 2022 General Election. The movement uses the unmistakable “R” logo, which is associated with the Raila campaign.

The ODM boss has been stepping up his economic and development agenda, which he has been sharing periodically, including the disbursement of Sh6,000 as a monthly social welfare package.