The Mt Kenya Times 
Pelagiah Muthoni
Pelagiah Muthoni is running on an empowerment platform, but a crowded DCP field and a formidable incumbent stand between her and Parliament
By John Kariuki
Pelagiah Muthoni has a warm manner and a practised stump speech. Ask her why she wants to be Murang’a County’s Woman Representative and the answer comes quickly: empowerment, dignity, inclusion. Ask what she has done before — and the conversation requires more time.
Muthoni, known to supporters as Pragiah, yesterday confirmed she is seeking the Murang’a Woman Representative seat on a Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP) ticket in the 2027 General Election. Her campaign is built around three pillars: economic empowerment for women, skills development for youth, and greater inclusion for persons living with disabilities.
The pitch is earnest. Whether it is enough to break through in what is shaping up to be one of Murang’a’s most contested races is a different question.
The incumbent and the field
Muthoni will not have the seat to herself. The current Murang’a Woman Representative is Betty Maina, a former director of the Athi Water Development Agency who won the seat in 2022 on a United Democratic Alliance (UDA) ticket, polling 278,443 votes — more than double her nearest rival. Maina sits on the Finance and National Planning Committee in the National Assembly and remains the name most Murang’a voters associate with the seat.
The county itself is also in political flux. Governor Irungu Kang’ata recently crossed from UDA to DCP, pledging to defend his seat under Gachagua’s party banner — a move that signals growing DCP momentum in the county but also means the party’s internal primary for every seat, including the women’s representative race, could be fiercely competitive.
DCP opened registration for 2027 aspirants last month, setting a registration fee of KSh10,000 for Woman Representative hopefuls, with reduced fees of KSh5,000 for youth and persons with disabilities. Several names are expected to join the queue.
What the platform promises
Muthoni’s agenda covers familiar but important ground. She has pledged to champion accessible financing for women entrepreneurs, invest in technical and digital skills for youth, and push for programmes that bring persons with disabilities into the economic mainstream.
“Restoring dignity means ensuring that every person, regardless of physical ability, has an equal chance to contribute meaningfully to society,” she said in a statement outlining her candidacy.
The ambitions are not unusual for a first-time candidate. What observers will want to know is how she intends to move them from rhetoric to legislation, and what networks she commands to deliver resources to a county whose development needs are considerable.
Murang’a’s own county budget priorities for 2025-2026 identify food security, reliable water access, road infrastructure, universal healthcare and social and economic empowerment of youth, women and persons with disabilities as key intervention areas — precisely the terrain Muthoni says she wants to occupy. The overlap between her platform and existing county priorities is notable, though it also raises questions about what a national legislator can add to programmes already underway at county level.
The credibility question
Muthoni’s campaign materials describe her as a leader with “a heart of gold.” Voters will be looking for something more specific: a professional record, community work, institutional affiliations or prior public service that demonstrates she can navigate Parliament and deliver for constituents.
Those details have not yet been made public. Her campaign, at this stage, rests heavily on aspiration. That is not uncommon at the early stages of a race — but in a county where the incumbent won by a commanding margin and where DCP’s own primary is likely to attract multiple credible candidates, aspiration alone may not be sufficient.
Political analysts who follow Mt. Kenya electoral dynamics note that the Woman Representative seat has historically rewarded candidates with strong grassroots networks, visible community presence and the ability to distribute resources. Murang’a’s electorate, they note, has consistently distinguished between candidates who speak about empowerment and those who demonstrably practise it.
The bigger picture
Muthoni’s entry into the race reflects a wider pattern across Mt. Kenya, where DCP has announced plans to field candidates in all 47 counties across every elective category as part of Gachagua’s ambition to build a nationally competitive party ahead of 2027. For Muthoni, the DCP ticket offers visibility and association with a party that is generating real momentum in the region.
Whether that momentum translates into a primary victory — and then a general election win against a well-resourced incumbent — will depend on factors that no amount of platform rhetoric alone can resolve.
For now, Muthoni is in the race. Murang’a’s voters will have the final word.
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About the Author
Dan