Billionaire Cucu: How 72-year-old grandma gave men a run for their money in just-concluded August polls

By Lydiah Nyawira | 6yrs ago | 3 min read

The 72- year-old, soft-spoken cucu shook the political scene, defiantly proving that age is nothing but a number. During April’s Jubilee party primaries, cucu Maranga nearly carried the day in the first botched

Nyeri County is known for producing formidable women leaders even before the 2017 General Election. Nobel Peace laureate, the late Wangari Maathai, MPs Esther Murugi ( Nyeri Town) and Mary Wambui (Othaya), as well as the late First Lady Lucy Kibaki, are just a few. But in this year’s elections, the county produced Christabel Wambura Maranga , the candidate for the Mathira parliamentary seat which has been won by Rigathi Gachagua.

The 72- year-old, soft-spoken cucu shook the political scene, defiantly proving that age is nothing but a number, even as she shunned media limelight while pushing her agenda with supporters at the grassroots of the populous Mathira constituency.

Use of choppers became part of her campaign trail, landing at Mathaithi Primary School to attend a football match, one of over 70 tournaments, to have the youth back her bid.

Tusker FC, Homeboys and Superstar FC played at Karatina Stadium during the tourney’s launch with winners earning cash prizes and a five-day stay at a local hotel. Losers got sports kits.

Sporting her signature long dresses and trademark headscarf, she wooed voters by dishing out funds for projects and prominently featured in community fundraisers, besides helping Kianjaini Catholic Church attain parish status.

During her visits to churches, she introduced herself as a God-fearing woman, a laywoman of the ACK church. This granted her access to pray and preach within the church.

She spearheaded the erection of floodlights in villages and shopping centres, launched water projects and drilled boreholes in Gaikuyu and Kiamucheru village and told voters that, “I am here to humbly ask for your support. As a woman and a mother, I want to change the lives of people in Mathira constituency.”

During April’s Jubilee party primaries, cucu Maranga nearly carried the day in the first botched round, but suffered defeat when the exercise was repeated, losing with less than 4,000 votes to Rigathi.

Undaunted, she contested the August election as an independent candidate and hoped to “trounce my competitors without a doubt.” In door-to-door campaigns, a move she said allowed her to understand the needs of residents, she kept a close-knit team of campaigners who ensured she was able to traverse the constituency.

“I am not out to make money. At my age, all I want is for the constituency to develop to international standards,” she often said as her opponents pointed out that she was a billionaire who had sold land in Nairobi’s Karen estate to finance her campaigns, claims Maranga did not confirm.

Cucu Maranga, however, lost with over 28,000 votes to Rigathi’s over 52,000 in a race that had other contestants, including 27-year-old George Warutere Thinwa (Narc-Kenya), former MP Peter Weru, Phenansio Thuku and Naftali Wanjohi (independents) and Nancy Wanjiku Murage (Democratic Party).