Prof Njoka, Governor Njuki in bitter war of words
Tharaka Nithi County Jubilee party gubernatorial candidate, Prof Erastus Njoka (left) and his running mate Dr Mucee Rukunja when they launched their campaign manifesto on June 6, 2022. Their main focus is on the social welfare of the county residents.
The governor’s contest in Tharaka Nithi County is taking a nasty turn, with Governor Muthomi Njuki and Prof Erastus Njoka engaging in mudslinging instead of selling their manifestos.
The two friends turned political foes come from Chuka/Igambang’ombe constituency and ganged up in 2017 to unseat Governor Samuel Ragwa, but they parted ways shortly after Mr Njuki took office.
Governor Njuki is seeking a second term on a United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party ticket, while Prof Njoka, a former Chuka University vice-chancellor, is running under the Jubilee Party.
Although the two have never revealed the exact cause of their bitter differences, Mr Njuki argues that the divisions started when he turned down a proposal by Prof Njoka to change the county’s name to Meru South County and to move the devolved unit’s headquarters to Chuka town from Kathwana.
On his side, Prof Njoka claims he distanced himself from Mr Njuki and hatched a plan to unseat him after realising that his only agenda was to amass wealth from public resources meant to help the poor who could not afford basic needs.
At a meeting in Mwanjati, Mariani ward, Mr Njuki described Prof Njoka as a power-thirsty man whose only agenda is to take over the leadership of the devolved unit and implement his ‘evil’ plans that he said he would not support.
Mr Njuki said the don had spread propaganda that the governor would not be cleared by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to seek reelection.
“Prof Njoka’s main agenda is to unseat me, and that is why he is going around the county calling me a thief and lying to the residents that I will be jailed even if I am reelected in the August 9 polls,” Mr Njuki said.
Prof Njoka says Mr Njuki was barred from entering his office in Kathwana until a Sh34.9 million corruption case he was facing is heard and determined and that even if he is reelected, he will not step into the office.
He also claims that Mr Njuki is going around the county dishing out stolen money to manipulate poor residents that he should have empowered economically.
“The money that he is using to bribe you so that you can re-elect him should have been used to fund irrigation projects, build good roads and do other empowerment projects,” said Prof Njoka at a recent meeting in Tharaka North sub-county.
Mr John Kimathi, a resident of Chuka, told the Nation that the two had heightened political temperatures in the county and caused great animosity between their supporters.
Governor Njuki’s deputy Nyamu Kagwima is also angling for the governor’s seat on a Wiper ticket.
Others seeking to unseat Mr Njuki are Dr Mzalendo Kibunjia (Narc Kenya), Mr Gitari Mbiuki (Chama Cha Kazi) and Ashford Kaugi (independent).
