Ex-street boy emerges third in bid to replace Gachagua in Mathira 

Former street boy Daniel Kiige, who relied on well-wishers for his campaigns for the Mathira parliamentary seat, emerged third, defeating financially endowed and seasoned politicians.

Mr Kiige, 23, garnered 8,148 votes and beat Ms Christobel Phyllis Wambura Maranga, 74, referred to as “Shosh” owing to her advanced age, who received 4,344.

Ms Maranga came to the spotlight during the 2017 Jubilee Party nominations, when she trounced outgoing Mathira MP Rigathi Gachagua by a huge margin, prompting the then director of elections, Deputy President William Ruto, to order for a repeat. 

But Ms Maranga was beaten in the second round and went on to run as an independent candidate. She put up a spirited fight against the Jubilee wave, coming in a strong second with 28,893 votes against Mr Gachagua’s 52,757.

Ms Maranga, who ran under Jubilee in Tuesday’s elections, and Mr Kiige (Freedom and Justice Party) appeared to be getting more attention from voters. But they were not spared by the last-minute United Democratic Alliance (UDA) wave that swept across the mountain region like bushfire.

Mr Eric Mwangi Wamumbi, the outgoing Konyu ward MCA, who joined the race barely two months ago after being endorsed by Mr Gachagua, won by a landslide, garnering 49,277 votes. Nairobi business magnate Stanley Waruru Gikandi came in a poor second with 9,126 votes, beating Mr Kiige by only 948 votes.

Others who were beaten by Mr Kiige include Mr Kiragu Kaweru, a former personal assistant to outgoing Murang’a governor Mwangi Wa Iria. He received 2,032 votes. Mr Phenansio Thuku, also a Nairobi businessman, was the tail ender with 410 votes.   

Mr Kiige, a son of a poor single mother, featured prominently in the Nation earlier this year, earning himself a page-two story when he declared his intention to vie for the Mathira constituency seat, which is known to attract men and women with deep pockets.

Born into a poor family, he lived on the streets in his formative years before he was pulled out by a well-wisher and returned to school. He graduated from KCA University last year with a degree in commerce, majoring in accounting.

In the run-up to the elections, some well-wishers volunteered to help him raise funds to boost his campaign kitty.

Before he submitted his nomination papers at the local IEBC office, Mr Kiige struggled to raise Sh20,000 for the nomination fee, forcing him to call for help from well-wishers, who responded immediately and raised the money.

Mr Gachagua dropped from the Mathira parliamentary race after he was named the Kenya Kwanza presidential running mate.