Waruguru factor in Laikipia 2022 politics – Weekly Citizen

The declaration by Laikipia woman representative Catherine Waruguru to vie for the gubernatorial seat in 2022 has sent other aspirants for the seat back to the drawing board.
Waruguru, a staunch ally of William Ruto has been making headlines due to her abrasive politics that has forced her rivals to dash for cover when they spot her.

Laikipia Women Rep Waruguru

Interestingly, before the August 8 2017 polls, Waruguru was only known locally due to her outstanding looks.
It was her outstanding looks that saw the defunct TNA party led by Uhuru Kenyatta nominate her to the Laikipia county assembly in 2013.
Waruguru, fondly referred to as mrembo wa Laikipia, captured the eyes of the president with her beauty and unrivaled fashion sense effectively catapulting her to popularity.
Men spent fortunes trying to lure her, but her dream was a bigger job which she eventually got when she was elected the woman representative.
But a few months after her election as woman rep, Waruguru hit the headlines after she was kicked out of a hotel in Kericho for failing to produce a marriage certificate.
She was in the company of her husband, lawyer William Kigen when Sunshine Uperhill Hotel at the heart of Kericho town turned them away for not producing this ‘crucial document’.
This sparked a debate among Kenyans from all spheres including a sizeable number of politicians who faulted the hotel for denting her image as a leader.
She threatened to sue the establishment over the saga but never did so.
In 2014, she was admitted to Karatina University for an undergraduate degree where she studied Business Management and completed in 2016.
She is currently pursuing her master’s degree in management and innovation at the Kenya College of Accountancy.

But it is her bare knuckle war in her support for Ruto that has exposed her true character.
Two weeks ago, Waruguru was locked out of church when she reportedly disrupted the service accompanied by 200 supporters.
Bishop Ndirangu Ngunjiri of AIPCA Nanyuki was forced to see her off because of the commotion she brought and also prevented her from addressing the congregation.
Jubilee nominated MP Maina Kamanda was also caught up in the fiasco and he had to use a different door to avoid a confrontation with the female MP’s supporters.
“I had received reports that Waruguru would storm the church and that is why I informed Kamanda to leave using another door once she gets in. She had not been invited to the church and she meant to cause chaos,” the bishop said.
The bishop added that Kamanda had honoured a personal invite to attend the service.
“Actually Kamanda will be here also on October 13 in preparation for the visit of the head of state. Waruguru should seek forgiveness from God for attempting to disrupt the church service. But thank God she did not manage,” the bishop stated.
Upon being denied a chance to speak in church, Waruguru gathered her supporters at Thingithu grounds where she launched a scathing attack against Kamanda.
She further declared that the bishop should make his allegiance known.
“We want to tell Bishop Ndirangu that he was the one who was cooking breakfast in the deputy president’s Karen home recently when the members of the clergy visited him. He should be very clear on which political divide he is subscribed to,” Waruguru added.
Waruguru also revealed that she was mulling running for Laikipia governor seat in 2022.
“I will vie for that seat while breastfeeding and I know people will vote for me. But first, let us examine their scorecard and we might consider them for a second term,” Waruguru declared.
She also accused Laikipia deputy governor John Mwaniki of sponsoring the people who opposed her presence in the church.
For now, the Africa Independent Pentecostal Church Laikipia East Diocese has demanded an apology from Waruguru for disrupting the service.
The bishop appealed to political leaders to stop manipulating youths to disrupt church services.
Waruguru and Agriculture cabinet secretary Mwangi Kiunjuri are members of Tanga Tanga, a Jubilee group allied to Ruto while Kamanda is in the Kieleweke team that supports Uhuru-Raila Odinga pact.

Ndirirtu Mureithi

If the woman rep runs for the gubernatorial seat she will face off with incumbent governor Ndiritu Mureithi, who is a nephew of former president Mwai Kibaki. He is the son of Kibaki’s elder brother, the late Phillip Muriithi.
During the 2013 polls, Muriithi contested on United Democratic Movement whose presidential candidate was Musalia Mudavadi.
He faced off with Grand National Union then party leader Kiunjuri and TNA’s Joshua Irungu, who emerged the winner.
Muriithi, a former Industrialisation assistant minister, was among the founder members of UDF.
But Muriithi made history by becoming the first independent candidate to win the governor seat.
He emerged three times lucky and survived a protracted election petition scare.
Ndiritu resigned from Jubilee a few months to the election after losing the ticket to his predecessor Joshua Irungu.
He was later accused of using portraits of Uhuru in his campaign posters so the IEBC ordered him to remove them in 48 hours and pay a fine of Sh500,000.
With Waruguru’s entry in the gubernatorial race, focus will also be on Kiunjuri on which candidate he will support.
The Agriculture cabinet secretary is positioning himself to be Ruto’s running mate, and hence might throw his support to Waruguru.