Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru will have to work harder to retain her seat after her greatest rivals pledged to work together ahead of the 2022 General Election.
Interior PS Karanja Kibicho and Kirinyaga Woman Rep Wangui Ngirici on Friday, September 10, agreed to bury the hatchet and work together in what could deal Anne Waiguru a blow.
The two had both expressed interest in vying for the Kirinyaga gubernatorial seat and were considered very strong opponents.
This development comes barely days after Waiguru who was recently questioned by the anti-graft agency over a KSh52 million pending bill in her county said it will be too hard for her to retain her seat on a Jubilee ticket.
Karanja Kibicho has since said he would not vie for the gubernatorial seat but work together with Ngirici to realise her political ambitions.
Taking to Facebook after the two held a public rally, Ngirici said they have resorted to unite not for their political interests but for the unity of the people of Kirinyaga.
“The people of Kirinyaga affirm a unity of purpose,” Ngirici said in a Facebook post seen by Kivumbi.co.ke.
It is understood that the family of PS Karanja Kibicho has been having strained relations with that of the Ngirici.
The bad blood had also been made worse by the fact the Ngirici’s subscribe to United Democratic Alliance while Karanja Kibicho is strongly in the Jubilee party.
Observers however speculate the Interior PS will and Ngirici could form a joint ticket for the Kirinyaga gubernatorial seat or Kibicho goes for the senatorial seat with Ngirici settling to vie for the gubernatorial seat
With about 11 months left for her to the next polls, the Kirinyaga gubernatorial seat has attracted a couple of seasoned politicians with deep pockets, coming amid new political dynamics.
Apart from Wangui Ngirici, Narc Kenya party leader Martha Karua has thrown her hat in the ring, so is Ambassador Robinson Njeru Githae.
On Wednesday, September 8, Waiguru told Citizen TV that if the polls were held today it would be very difficult for her to retain her seat not because she has performed dismally but because of the tag of the Jubilee party.
“The truth of the matter is that defending my seat if the polls were held today would be very difficult, and that is the truth of the matter unless something changes in Jubilee,
“If I ran today on a Jubilee party ticket and someone else ran on a different party, even if people felt I had performed, it would be hard to convince them to vote for me,” she said.
