Muhia-Gitau UDA team ‘to give Kimemia a run for his money’

If Kipipiri Member of Parliament Amos Kimunya is to be brought to a reckoning at the ballot in his bid for re-election next  year, it will most likely be by former Nyandarua Woman Representative Wanjiku Muhia.

The Jubilee Party majority leader in the National Assembly, who has the backing of Governor Francis Kimemia, is a formidable opponent in his own right, but that is not stopping Ms Muhia, a fiery orator and effective grassroots mobiliser, from promising the two a bruising battle at the polls, come August.

She blames Mr Kimemia, together with Water Cabinet Secretary Sicily Kariuki, of orchestrating her downfall during the 2017 party primaries when she was contesting against Ms Faith Wairimu Gitau in the nominations for the woman rep seat. She filed a petition and lost.

The East African Legislative Assembly (Eala) lawmaker now says she is back for three reasons — to “punish her oppressors in the 2017 primaries, to serve residents of Kipipiri Constituency, and to help Deputy President William Ruto achieve his vision for the country under his “bottom-up” economic model should he become President.

And she is serving her revenge cold, with a healthy dose of realpolitik — Ms Muhia has teamed up with her nemesis, whom she is on record as saying was imposed on voters, explaining that she does not mind backing Ms Gitau’s gubernatorial ambitions on DP Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party ticket. 

Waxing philosophical, she says: “In politics,  there are no permanent enemies or hard feelings.”
The Muhia-Gitau alliance, pundits now say, is bound to give the Jubilee Party sleepless nights.

“Ms Muhia has no reason to be bitter about the 2017 nominations. The party eventually rewarded her with a better position after nominating her to Eala. Her joining UDA is of no consequence and her presence won’t add any value to UDA,” Jubilee Party activist Njohi Njuguna, seeking to dismiss this notion, told the Nation.

Most residents expected Ms Muhia to run for governor, but she says her focus is on Kipipiri Constituency, at least for now.

“I know I qualify for the governorship and if I was given the job, I’d do it perfectly. However, I never expressed the desire [to be governor]. I appreciate Nyandarua residents’ good wishes. It seems they believe in me,” Ms Muhia told the Nation.

Muhia’s misfortunes

Reached for comment, Governor Kimemia dismissed claims he had a hand in Ms Muhia’s misfortunes.

The party nominations, he said, were competitive and no one was interested in fighting other candidates or manipulating the results, the governor said.

“[Ms] Muhia has been out of the country for too long to understand local politics. And she doesn’t have the energy to traverse the county hunting for votes. That’s why she has opted to contest the Kipipiri MP seat, but I can assure you she doesn’t have the muscle to defeat [Mr] Kimunya.” 

In the 2017 nominations, Ms Gitau won the party’s support to run after garnering 29,589 votes against Ms Muhia’s 7, 946.  The latter protested claiming procedural irregularities. She said nominations were not free and fair. 

The Political Parties Disputes Tribunal ruled in Ms Muhia’s favour, and gave her the certificate.  

The decision was, however, overturned by the High Court amid riots in which a protester was shot dead. 

A holder of a masters degree in Business Administration from the University of Sunderland in the UK, Ms Muhia’s first employment was in the flower industry where she worked for six years.

She later joined Equity Bank for another six years before venturing into politics in 2013 to become Nyandarua county’s first woman representative.