Nyandarua senator loses seat to UDA's youthful John Methu
John Methu, who won the Nyandarua Senate seat on a UDA ticket
Nyandarua Senator Mwangi Githiomi, a former minister, has lost his seat to youthful John Methu of the United Democratic Alliance (UDA).
Senator Githiomi came in third with 15,015 votes, after Theuri Kinyanjui with 34,845, while Mr Methu scored 185,337.
Mr Githiomi lost to Mr Methu even in his own Kipipiri constituency, where he garnered 4,327 votes against the senator-elect 19, 985.
Both Mr Kinyanjui and Senator Githiomi contested as independent candidates after losing to Mr Methu in UDA primaries.
Mr Methu, 31, is likely to be the youngest person ever elected to the Senate, after Nandi Governor Stephen Sang, who joined the House aged 32 in 2013. Mr Sang was elected governor in the 2017 elections.
Mr Methu, born in Kinangop constituency, is a holder of a degree in political science from Pwani University and was the youngest contestant for the same seat in 2017 under the Maendeleo Chap Chap party, when he lost to Mr Githiomi.
Unlike other candidates who had the financial muscle, having been in politics and private business for decades, Mr Methu relied on the goodwill of voters, who sometimes hired taxis and fuelled them for his campaigns and funded the printing of his campaign materials and other campaign-related logistics.
“I indeed had no campaign funds compared to my competitors, but I believed Nyandarua residents had faith in me. I have never been mentioned in any corruption deals,” he said.
“I have the ideas and a work plan for Nyandarua, and I was able to resonate with the real issues facing Nyandarua people and solutions to their problems, especially in agriculture, health and education, among others.”
