Kigano laughs off Jubilee's poor show in Kangema after age debacle

Outgoing Kangema MP Muturi Kigano, who was denied a Jubilee nomination ticket on account of his age, has now come out to ridicule the party.

The panel that picked the Jubilee flag-bearer in Kangema, whose coordinator was County Commissioner Karuku Ngumo, filed a report on April 18 arguing that at 79, Mr Kigano was too old to race.

"They said I am old ... They said that the race needed a young person to win. They have now lost in a way that I could not have lost. I would have successfully defended this seat," he said on Thursday at the Kangema deputy county commissioner’s office.

The results had just been announced at the Kangema constituency tallying centre and Peter Kihungi of the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) was declared winner with 20,353 votes. 

The man picked by Jubilee, George Kibuku, was a distant second with 8,341 votes. Mr Kihungi rallied 29,242 votes in Kangema in favour of UDA presidential candidate William Ruto, with 5,456 voting for Azimio la Umoja One Kenya’s Raila Odinga.

"It was the wrong strategy to pick him. It explains so much of what has happened in Mt Kenya, where Jubilee has simply been massacred.

The nominations were wrong and the results were bound to be what we have witnessed," Mr Kigano said.

What remains now, he said, was for the region to pursue unity of purpose in the search for good governance and development.

"The people have expressed themselves. They have made a ruling on our grassroots leadership. We made those nomination mistakes and divided our people. It is time to turn a new leaf of unity. We must unite and we must accept the results," he said.

In neighbouring Mathioya, MP Peter Kimari (Jubilee), who received 8,760 votes, was sent packing by UDA's Edwin Mugo, who garnered 21,503. 

Mr Kimari conceded defeat and congratulated the winner, saying: "I wish to take this opportunity to sincerely thank the people of Mathioya constituency for granting me an opportunity to serve for the last five years as your MP".

Mr Kigano chaired the National Assembly’s Justice and Legal Affairs Committee, which was instrumental in helping President Uhuru Kenyatta push the failed Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) through Parliament. 

Mr Kigano dismissed as ‘propaganda’ claims that he was old, saying he felt he was half the age, endorsing the adage that you are as old as you feel.

Known to be a good mixer even in small joints in Kangema constituency, his supporters believe that had he been cleared by Jubilee to battle it out with UDA, he would have fared better.

What endears him to many in Kangema is his ability to avoid personalised politics and keep away from confrontations.

“We love Mr Kigano because he has no favourites … He treats us equally and has a lot of wisdom to share,” said Murang'a County parliamentarians chief whip Nduati Ngugi.

“It is unheard of for Mr Kigano to be toxic in the current political debates that have split the country and Murang’a County into several factions.” 

Mr Ngugi said Mr Kigano had predicted that “the political storm that preceded this election in Mt Kenya” would be resolved “under two main formations – Jubilee vs UDA. And it has come to pass". 

Mr Ngugi was also shown the door in Gatanga by Edward Muriu. 

Mr Kigano is the epitome of resilience. He started vying for the Kangema seat in 1974 before he finally bagged it in 2017.

His name was in all ballot boxes since 1974 and he never lost hope.  Only in 2007 did he not contest, as he was an officer with the defunct Electoral Commission of Kenya. 

Mr Kigano says proudly that he started vying for elective office when he was 28 and bagged it when he was 71, after 43 years of persistent attempts.

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