By Our Correspondents
Worth Noting:
- “We will be happy if our dear sister brings her expertise in leadership and development to her home county by being our next governor. Let her come and we will fully support her candidature,” Mwangi stated.
- They added that since Governor Martin Wambora’s is coming to an end, the county required a skilled governor like the former CS to steer the county to better heights.
- They told her to forget contesting in Nyandarua County and return to her birth place.
- “What we have seen in Nyandarua where our sister is being humiliated in public is not good. Let her come back and we will receive her with open hands because we know she can deliver,” they said.
Former Cabinet Secretary Sicily Kariuki is torn between seeking to be the governor of Nyandarua or Embu County.
Opinion leaders from both counties are pressuring her to contest the gubernatorial seat in their counties saying she is best suited to head the devolved system of governance in their respective counties.
In Embu County, her birth place, youth and women leaders drawn from the four Sub Counties of Runyenjes, Manyatta, Mbeere North, and Mbeere South say the Jubilee Party has no robust candidate in the area and thus has a golden chance of winning the seat.
Speaking in Embu town, the leaders lamented that in her tenure while working in the government, she initiated several development projects in that area like irrigation within the arid Mbeere and Runyenjes.
The leaders added that she was instrumental in the construction of the mega Thiba Dam which greatly helps residents of her home county as well as the neighbouring Kirinyaga County.
Led by Martin Mwangi, a former Member of County Assembly, the opinion leaders noted that the irrigation initiatives had changed the semi-arid area boast food production thereby uplifting the living standards of the locals.
“We will be happy if our dear sister brings her expertise in leadership and development to her home county by being our next governor. Let her come and we will fully support her candidature,” Mwangi stated.
They added that since Governor Martin Wambora’s is coming to an end, the county required a skilled governor like the former CS to steer the county to better heights.
They told her to forget contesting in Nyandarua County and return to her birth place.
“What we have seen in Nyandarua where our sister is being humiliated in public is not good. Let her come back and we will receive her with open hands because we know she can deliver,” they said.
Other development that they cited includes equipping hospitals in Embu with the state-of-the-art machines.
Another leader, Rose Waita, observed that many residents need the former CS to replicate the great work in area after the term of Wambora is over.
“When she resigned we were looking forward to her coming back home to contest in Embu. We were disappointed when she announced she was going to Nyandarua. But it is not late, we have evaluated the people who are interested in the seat and we feel that no one can be compared to her,” she observed.
The leaders called on the Jubilee Party to give her direct nomination for the Embu governorship position.
Mr Manasses Mukundi, a youth leader noted that the present leaders vying for the place don’t match Ms Kariuki’s track record.
“Her expertise will assist the youths and small-scale merchants in creating extra jobs that may uplift the economic system of Embu County,” they noted.
Among those that have declared their interest for the seat include former Senator Lenny Kivuti who is expected to vie on Devolution Empowerment Party (DEP), Manyatta MP John Muchiri who will be vying on the UDA party, Nominated MP Cecily Mbarire (UDA) and Njagi Kumantha on Democratic Party.
The move by Embu leaders has received mixed reactions from Nyandarua residents.
Those supporting her bid told her to forget her birth place and instead contest in the area where she is married.
Those who support the current Nyandarua Governor Francis Kimemia urged her to listen to her family and seek political leadership in Embu.
The former CS is expected to declare her position in a few days’ time
Dennis Dibondo