Kibaki’s grandson and nephew battle for Othaya MP seat

A grandson and a nephew of the late President Mwai Kibaki are among 10 candidates battling to clinch the Othaya parliamentary seat in Tuesday’s General Election.

The nephew, Dr Joseph Kiragu, is vying as an independent candidate, while the grandson, Mr Joseph Wahome, is running under the Safina party.

The two are contesting against incumbent MP Gichuki Mugambi, who is defending his seat under Jubilee.

Others in the race include Mr Patrick Ngunjiri (CCK), Mr Wambugu Wainaina (UDA) and Mr Stephen Gakuna (UKW). Also running are independent candidates Mr David Kimengere), Mr Lawrence Muchiri, Mr Eric Theuri and Mr John Kinyua.

Kibaki’s leadership

All the 10 candidates are promising to emulate Kibaki’s leadership legacy if they are elected to the seat that he held from 1974 to 2002.

Speaking to the Nation, Mr Wahome explained that Kibaki was a cousin to his paternal grandfather Joseph Wahome Thuni. Mr Thuni died in 2019 and was buried in Gatuya-ini village in Othaya. Kibaki was born and brought up in Gatuya-ini.

Mr Wahome has promised to apply the skills he learned from his grandfather.

He wants to improve tea, coffee, macadamia, avocado, dairy, poultry and fish farming, the main economic activities in the agriculturally rich constituency.

“I grew up learning development skills from my grandfather. He had a great future for this country and never lost any election. Being a grandson of the late Kibaki, I opted to run for this seat and take up that mantle,” the 37-year-old candidate said.

“The late Kibaki joined politics when he was a young man and we used to attend most of his political rallies. We have all the resources to transform Othaya economically and that is why I have come with that transformative agenda that my late grandfather had.”

Mr Wahome holds a degree in ICT from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) and is in business.

“Being from the lineage of Kibaki, I want to take that development track record further. Kibaki started early and he rose to be the President of this country. I seek to continue improving [roads] in Othaya so as to open up the agricultural villages,” Mr Wahome said.

“I went against the grain and opted to contest via the Safina party just like Kibaki used to contest via the Democratic Party (DP). I am young and ready to serve our people. The future is now and we have to fix the issues of our young people.”

For his part, Mr Kiragu, a medical doctor and lawyer, was pivotal in engineering the campaigns for Laikipia Governor Ndiritu Muriithi in 2007 when he ran for the Laikipia West MP seat and chaired Mr Muriithi’s gubernatorial campaign committee in 2017.

He also played a key role in the election of Ms Mary Wambui as Othaya MP in 2013.

He recently resigned from Kenyatta National Hospital as a specialist in obstetrics and gynaecology to vie for the Othaya seat for the first time.

“In the background, I used to play some critical leadership roles in this constituency when Kibaki was serving as President. I have what it takes to continue with Kibaki’s legacy because I have the urge of managing public affairs just as he did,” Mr Kiragu told the Nation.

“I feel that I have something better to offer to the people of Othaya under the available resources. I will put in place a people-driven leadership by establishing the constituency intergovernmental committee. I want to emulate the development agenda of the late President Kibaki.”

Mr Kiragu wants to improve health care, water supply, education, agriculture, roads and technical training institutions.

“I will put emphasis on restructuring the delivery of services in our healthcare facilities. I feel that Mwai Kibaki Hospital should be autonomous so that it can draw financial resources directly from the National Treasury,” he said. 

“I want to fight bureaucracy in procurement of goods and services which affects effective delivery of services to our people.”

In the run-up to the 2017 General Election, Kibaki made a bold move by endorsing his nephew, Mr Muriithi, for the Laikipia governor’s seat.

Chief guest

It caught many people by surprise when Kibaki appeared as a chief guest at the launch of Mr Muriithi’s manifesto. He had kept away from active politics after leaving office in 2013.

Mr Muriithi is the son of Kibaki’s elder brother, the late Phillip Muriithi Kibaki.

Mr Kibaki addressed the public during the events that took place in Nanyuki and Nyahururu towns.

He urged residents of Laikipia to vote wisely and ensure that they picked candidates who wanted to transform their lives.

Mr Muriithi admitted at the time that he had personally invited Kibaki to help him launch his manifesto.

“As an aspirant, it is encouraging to seek advice and support from former President Kibaki but I do not expect him to go back into politics.

He has a wealth of knowledge and it is an advantage to seek his advice,” Muriithi said.

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