Iron Lady in tough test as she eyes governor seat against Jubilee wave

With less than a year to the polls, the Kirinyaga governor’s seat is already shaping up to be one of the most hotly contested.

A number of candidates have declared their interest in the seat, including former Devolution Cabinet Secretary Anne Waiguru, incumbent Joseph Ndathi and most recently Narc Kenya leader Martha Karua.

The entry of Ms Karua, a seasoned politician who has served as Gichugu MP for 20 years, will draw the most interest.

Karua made a turnaround from her earlier indication that she would run for the presidency when on Thursday she declared her interest to unseat Governor Ndathi.

But the Narc-K leader is likely to face a tough test in winning the hearts of voters in the region.

Karua, who contested the 2013 presidential election on her party ticket and emerged sixth, has been a vocal critic of President Uhuru Kenyatta whose Jubilee Party is immensely popular in Mt Kenya region.

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Presidential candidate

In running for governor, Karua might find herself in a precarious position, with her success pegged on her choice of presidential candidate in the 2017 General Election.

During the 2013 elections, Kenyatta garnered 57,104 votes of the total 60,345 votes cast in Karua’s Gichugu constituency. The National Alliance (TNA) swept across Mt Kenya region in the past elections as its candidates carried the day against stronger candidates who ran on less popular parties.

Political commentators say through the formation of Jubilee Party, which came after dissolution of 12 other parties, the ruling coalition has effectively locked out candidates who will not get the nomination ticket. Karua’s good standing with the Opposition may conspire against her desire to lead a county in a Jubilee stronghold.

Her decision to scale down her ambition to occupy State House comes hot on the heels of Peter Kenneth, who also opted out of the race to vie for governor. Kenneth said he would support President Kenyatta for re-election. Anthony Ndegwa, a local political commentator, believes that the key for Karua would be to reverse the trend and win the votes regardless of her Narc Kenya party and the candidate she will support for president.

He says the County Assembly is also likely to pose a challenge to her if she becomes governor.

“It will be important to have a majority in the assembly or risk working with a renegade House that could frustrate her leadership and portray her as incompetent,” Ndegwa says.

Vocal against corruption

Karua has been especially vocal against corruption in the Jubilee administration. Interestingly, she will now be pitted against Waiguru who has been adversely mentioned in the Sh790 million National Youth Service scam.

During an interview in a local radio station, Karua said she would clarify her position in two weeks.

“I will address Kirinyaga matters when I am in the county, I won’t discuss this here (Nairobi) and when I am home I will answer all the questions you have concerning my interests,” she said.

She insisted Kirinyaga County was her home and it would not take her more than two weeks to declare her intentions.

But Ndathi says he is not afraid of the new entrants in the race and he welcomes the competition.

“My scorecard speaks for itself, I am not worried by those wanting my position,” Ndathi says.

Waigiru says since her team is already covering the ground, she has nothing to worry about.

“Karua should feel most welcome to the contest and since we have the ground we are only waiting for the nomination,” she says.

“And in any case why should I worry or feel scared by Karua’s entry since she is running on a Narc-Kenya ticket while I’m in Jubilee?”