Karua tours Meru, sells her reform credentials

By Joseph Muchiri

Narc-Kenya leader Martha Karua has wound up her tour of the Mt Kenya East, giving a clear indication she is keen on support from the region.

Karua, who toured Meru and Tharaka-Nithi counties and opened offices in various towns, used the reformer tag to sell her bid.

Having no presidential aspirant, the Meru region, which has about 1.4 million voters, has been attractive to presidential aspirants.

Last Sunday was an interesting political day for Meru as Karua and Eldoret North MP William Ruto crisscrossed the region to popularise their brands.

Before then, Prime Minister Raila Odinga and his two deputies Uhuru Kenyatta and Musalia Mudavadi also held separate rallies and opened offices in the region in an attempt to get support.  Addressing various rallies, the Gichugu MP cautioned Kenyans against electing corrupt individuals at all levels of Government.

“Such leaders are out to enrich themselves. They will not fight graft or herald any change and their focus will be to raid public coffers,” said Karua, adding she left quit the Coalition Government after realising it was not receptive to the fight against corruption.

Speaking at Kathwana town after opening a Narc-Kenya office, Karua said her track record while in Government speaks for itself and makes her most qualified for president.

The legislator also moved to dismiss claims there are special political parties for Mt Kenya region, saying the electorate has the right to choose party to support.

She told residents to vet presidential aspirants keenly.

“Many people are seeking the leadership of this country after President Kibaki’s retirement and you should ensure that the best of them succeeds him,” she said.

As a show of her reform determination, Karua reiterated that she opposed the August 2013 poll date suggestion by some MPs, saying the move is a sign of greed for power.

She faulted the Grand Coalition principals for having failed to rally their troops to support a December election date.

Karua maintained she would not take her pay after December when the term of the current Parliament officially expires, adding that doing so would be unconstitutional.