Waititu-Kabogo race for Kiambu governor's seat promises to excite

The race for the Kiambu governor’s seat has gained momentum with the incumbent, William Kabogo, preparing to battle it out with Kabete MP Ferdinand Waititu.

Governor Kabogo and Mr Waititu have had long-drawn legal and political battles that escalated during the search for the Jubilee Party ticket for the lucrative seat.

In an interview, Mr Kabogo said it would be unimaginable to have Mr Waititu as the county governor.

“God forbid if ever he became a governor. To run the county, he has said, he would simply divide the allocation into four batches and doll it out – men, women, youth and children. How simplistic! Forget the dispute over his college, there is something which education does to a man,” said Mr Kabogo.

The flamboyant politician, with a seemingly insatiable love for fast cars, exuded confidence that he will beat Mr Waititu with a huge margin, dismissing a poll which showed the latter being ahead seven months to the elections.

“I am a scientific politician. I commission scientific polls and they concur with those of National Intelligence Service which are done weekly. I see myself getting 65 per cent,” he said.

Efforts to get Mr Waititu for his reaction did not bear fruit as his phone was switched off. The Kabete MP has repeatedly stated that he will trounce Mr Kabogo come August 8, “thanks to my sound development record.

“I will be on the ballot box and I know I will triumph because I am a performer and my record speaks for itself. I was elected as a councillor and I became a deputy mayor.

'DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS'

“I was also elected in Embakasi constituency where I spearheaded major development projects such as schools and hospitals and it is due to my potential that I was appointed an assistant minister, and above all I respect other people,” Mr Waititu said during a rally in Kiambu last week.

Mr Kabogo, however, says that his development record in the county will get him re-elected. He says he has allocated about 40 per cent of the revenue to health.

“The 18-bed dialysis hospital in Ruiru will bring down the cost from Sh20,000 a session to Sh6,500. The new partnership will drive the cost down to Sh3,000 for the very poor.”

He also said container clinics had taken health services closer to women and children.

“I am very proud of our 22 mother and childcare centres which we have done at only Sh2.5m each inclusive of all the equipment,” he said.

He said four level four hospitals are coming up in Kerenga in Lari, Thogoto in Kikuyu, Wangige in Kabete and Tigoni in Limuru.

In education, the governor said the county had embarked on a school feeding programme targeting 491 early childhood education centres.

“In the course of this year, we have completed the refurbishment of 25 ECE centres and 25 youth polytechnics. We have procured and delivered tools and equipment worth Sh54 million to all the 31 polytechnics with each institution receiving equipment worth Sh1.8 million,” he said.

On roads, Mr Kabogo said his county had put up bitumen roads in Kikuyu, Ruiru, Thika and Githunguri.

'TARMAC ROAD'

“We have done 1,700 kilometres of roads out of a possible 7,000. With an improved technology from Israel and India, we can do a low-volume tarmac road at Sh28 million, down from the current Sh50 million or sometimes, Sh80 million,” said Mr Kabogo.

But there is a big hurdle the governor has to tackle: party nominations, a subject he broached at the Kasarani meeting calling for fairness in the event led by President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto.

“I know Uhuru and Ruto are determined to deliver a clean nomination. I have been in politics since Kanu time and I know how nominations are done. But if anyone tries to mess up with the nominations, we will fail. They know what I am capable of. They won’t mess up nominations. They will let the people choose,” the governor said.

Mr Waititu has constantly used the governor’s statement that Deputy President Ruto “has to work for Central Kenya votes in 2022” against him.

“As people of Central Kenya, Mr Deputy President, we keep our promises. When we say we will support you, we will. No one should say anything else,” Mr Waititu told a Kasarani meeting last month.

But Mr Kabogo said that the statement had, in fact, made him a closer friend to the DP.