After failing to get Nakuru Senator Susan Kihika run as William Ruto’s deputy in the 2022 presidential race, allies of William Ruto have proposed Governor Anne Waiguru is a probable choice for the Deputy President’s slot. Senator Kihika was seen as the most suitable candidate, but the fact that she resides in the Rift Valley complicated UDA arithmetic.
Over the past few days, the Kirinyaga county boss has been forthcoming and openly displaying her intentions of jumping ship from the troubled Jubilee Party to Hustler Nation.
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”The truth of the matter is that defending my seat on a Jubilee ticket if the polls were held today would be very difficult,” the governor told Citizen TV yesterday morning.
According to credible sources from the DP’s camp, the selection of Waiguru is not not only meant to give Mt Kenya region a huge stake inside Ruto’s planned regime but also to appease the women vote in 2022.
Senior politicians in the camp strongly feel the former Devolution will be an easy sell in the region, while at the same time not upsetting UDA’s plans in Kirinyaga county.
”She has been cleansed by Raila. No corruption baggage of the NYS. They are also targeting the women vote with that proposed pairing,” one source said.
Earlier in the week on Monday when news of the governor heading to UDA broke out, Kirinyaga Woman Rep Purity Ngirici and her supporters sent a warning to Waiguru, telling her to forget about using the wheelbarrow party to defend her gubernatorial seat next year. Ngirici, a Ruto loyalist, has declared her interest on the same seat.
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Waiguru, who is positioning herself to be the next Mt Kenya kingpin when President Uhuru Kenyatta retires next year says her engagement going forward will be to champion for her region’s interests.
”We shall be pushing for a formula that will address inequalities without oppressing other Kenyans. Further discrimination in this area is unacceptable to us. Agriculture can drive the economic changes we want to see in our communities. We, therefore, demand that the budgetary allocation be raised,” the first-term governor said.
