How Mundigi, termed underdog, beat political giants in Embu Senate race

He does not come across as charismatic, wealthy, well-educated, shrewd or thuggish — qualities often used by many in Kenya to ascend to political office. It is also not his first attempt at elective politics. He has lost twice before but he has remained persistent.

Meet Embu senator-elect Alexander Munyi Mundigi.

He first sought public office in 2007 and later in 2013 when he contested the Mbeere South (then Gachoka) parliamentary seat but on both occasions lost to Rev Mutava Musyimi. He did not make any impact then.

In 2017, he vied for the senatorial seat, coming second after seasoned politician Peter Njeru Ndwiga who was riding on the Jubilee Party wave that was sweeping the Mt Kenya region.

However, in the just concluded election, Mr Mundigi achieved his goal. His more seasoned and more endowed opponents never took him seriously but the electorate did. By the time his rivals sensed danger, it was already too late.

Mr Mundigi garnered 81,162 votes against his closest challenger, outgoing deputy governor David Kariuki, who got 55,695 votes.

12 contestants

From the onset, the odds were highly stacked against the 56-year-old man. He contested against a rich field of 12 contestants, mainly people with political experience and vast resources and networks.

Among the political heavyweights were outgoing Embu Governor Martin Wambora (13,523 votes) and Mr Ndwiga.

Also in the race was former Kamukunji MP Norman Nyaga (9,387 votes), who served as the National Assembly majority whip in the Narc government, and is a son of the late veteran politician Jeremiah Nyagah who represented Embu in various capacities from 1958-1993.

Mr Mundigi also floored former Public Service principal secretary Lillian Omollo (22,851 votes) who is among the NYS scandal suspects. Long-serving Embu ODM chairman Moses Wamuuru had 2,074 votes. All these mounted grandiose campaigns complete with roadshows, adverts on TV, radio, billboards, branded T-shirts, caps and lesos and had heavy presence on the social media.

No billboards

In stark contrast, Mr Mundigi never mounted a single billboard and only his car was branded in his Democratic Party colours, which he used to reach the electorate.

By the time he voted on Tuesday at Kiritiri Primary School at around 4pm, the former employee of KenGen barely had time to rest. Since he did not have agents in any of the polling stations across the large county, Mr Mundigi mainly relied on people of goodwill to guard his votes.

He only physically visited a few polling stations and spent most of his time tracking his progress through the phone.

So, how did a political underdog finally triumph over his well-oiled opponents?

Rather than sulk at his loss in previous elections, Mr Mundigi never left the ground and was a constant figure at various public events that touched on the residents. His efforts were rewarded a few months to the elections when out of the blues, a new wave emerged among the youth with a clarion call to vote for “the ever present Mundigi”.

In touch with electorate

“I have kept in touch with the electorate. I have attended funerals, weddings, church harambees, goat eating events and many key social events.

“My opponents laughed at my efforts saying they would come with loads of cash. I was surprised when the people I have interacted with emerged in the last two months and rallied behind me,” he recounted.

Before the elections, there was a general discontentment among residents due lack of basic services, mainly healthcare, after local medics went on strike for close to two months.

Mr Mundigi says he is indebted to the church and they made a pact to ensure that he unites the county leadership and push for delivery of services.

“As senator you will see my work. I’ll lobby for more funds to be allocated for the development of Embu County. I will ensure that I unite all the leaders and communities living here. The outgoing senator went to Nairobi and never worked for the people. I have promised to ensure hospitals have medicine and [I will] talk to the governor and MPs to ensure that roads are done,” he said.

He vowed to ensure he keeps in touch with the grassroots even after his election.

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