Nyeri deputy governor hand in Kanu branch wrangles – Weekly Citizen

Combative Nyeri county Kanu branch chairman, Karanja wa Njeru, is said to be mobilising his diehard supporters with a view to taking the deputy governor in the devolved unit, Wanjiru Karugu, by the horns as protracted wrangles rock the independence political outfit at the branch level. Karanja says the deputy governor and two coordinators of the former ruling party in Mt Kenya region, Njung’e Mukirai from Kiambu, George Wainaina from Murang’a, and Nyeri politician John Muya have formed an unholy alliance aimed at kicking out the current branch officials and replacing them with their gadflies under the guise of rebranding the party. However, Muya asserts that the current Nyeri county Kanu branch officials must give an account of how they have been running the office for the last 17 years. “Full-scale and scrupulous probe must be conducted on the assets the party owns in the entire county and especially the Nyeri branch office, which is now in ruins,” said Muya.

Wanjiru Karugu

He added that red flag has been raised by Kanu headquarters and that the current party officebearers will face dire legal consequences. The branch boss warned that any attempt to interfere with the running of party affairs will be countered with more than double amount of political force. “I will certainly teach greenhorn politician Wanjiru basic elements of politics in that she is a pedestrian in the political terrain of Nyeri county,” he acclaimed. He advised Kanu chairman Gideon Moi not to be misled by characters like Mukirai who once worked at Central Bank of Kenya and one Wainaina, both of whom have made considerable wealth through what he termed as unconventional means. Karanja claimed that Muya has a long history of cattle rustling and as such he has no moral authority to hold public office. The Nyeri Kanu branch supremo further said deputy governor Karugu Wanjiru had been sidelined in the running of the county government by her boss, Mutahi Kahiga, over insubordination matters. “Even her personal secretary, and many other staff members, in her office, have been redeployed elsewhere,” added Karanja.

The former ruling party is the only political outfit in the country that used to have intact structures and assets worth millions of shillings across the country. According to the a green card drawn in 1985 that has been obtained from the ministry of Lands in Nyeri, and which has not been altered to date, the trustee of the branch Kanu office include retired president Mwai Kibaki, Kihoro Matu, Isaiah Mathenge (deceased) and Munene Kairu (deceased). County deputy governor Karugu claims that she has been tasked by Kanu headquarters to rebrand the party as a resource person. She is believed to be close to the family of late president Daniel Moi, who reportedly paid for her secondary school education. She was among friends of the late retired head of state who eulogised him at his Kabarak home in February when the despot bid farewell to the country. Others included retired military boss Elijah Sumbeiyo, retired AIC bishop Silas Yego and the longtime Moi personal physician David Silverstein. Nevertheless, the Nyeri Kanu boss has reminded the deputy governor that the rapport existing between her and the family of the late Moi is one subject, while politics is another different matter altogether.