Who will succeed Wambora as governor? – Weekly Citizen

More aspirants for the Embu gubernatorial seat are emerging amidst calls to rotate the position between the two dominant communities, Embu and Mbeere that form the major voting blocks.
Prior to the 2013 elections, there was the much hyped pre-polls memorandum of understanding where elders and leaders agreed that

Senator Lenny Kivuti

Embu would produce the governor and Mbeere the senator, which resulted in Martin Wambora and Lenny Kivuti being elected governor and senator respectively.
But the MoU was discarded in the 2017 elections, resulting in a fierce competition for the seat between Governor Wambora and Senator Kivuti. Wambora who emerged victorious hoisted the Jubilee party flag while Kivuti contested on Maendeleo Chap Chap.
Wambora is from the Embu community while Kivuti hails from the Mbeere community.
The latest to show interest in the seat is deputy governor David Njeru who hopes to capitalise on Wambora’s development record and political mobilisation to clinch the seat.
Wambora who is serving his second and final term in office, will be seeking a cabinet slot in the next government.
The developments come as a section of MCAs allied to Kivuti push for a leader from the Mbeere to succeed the governor in 2022.
MCAs led by Mbeti North MCA Peter Muriithi argue that the Embu community should now give a chance to their Mbeere cousins to take helm of the county’s big seat.
Muriithi who was a key supporter and campaigner of Wambora in the runup to the 2017 elections, says his fellow ward representatives from Manyatta constituency have rallied behind the idea of a governor from the Mbeere community.
He endorsed Kivuti who hails from Mbeere as the most suitable person to take over from Wambora. Kivuti is from the Murure clan of the Mbeere.

Speaker Muturi

In the 2017 polls, Kivuti lost narrowly to Wambora by a margin of 985 votes and contested the governor’s win, but lost at the Supreme Court.
“I have been a politician since 1992 and I supported Wambora in 2017. When Wambora leaves the seat after 10 years, we will vote for Kivuti and we want the rest of the county to back him,” said Muriithi, who hails from the Embu community.

Mbarire

He spoke during the launch of Kiambere community-based organisation, which was also attended by Kivuti, county speaker Josiah Thiriku, minority leader Lenny Mwaniki and other MCAs who also endorsed Kivuti to be the next governor.
For Njeru, he is hoping his loyalty to Wambora will see him carry the day.
Njeru is the second Embu county deputy governor after Dorothy Nditi, who fell out with Wambora ahead of the last elections.
Jubilee nominated MP Cecily Mbarire is also expected to give the seat another shot after falling in the party’s primaries to Wambora.
Mbarire recently opened a can of worms in Embu politics when he proposed that William Ruto picks parliamentary speaker Justin Muturi as his 2022 running mate.
Indeed, supporters of Kivuti say if Muturi becomes Ruto’s running mate, then their man’s political star will be dimmed as the speaker will become the most influential figure from Mbeere and hence divide the area votes to the disadvantage of Kivuti’s candidature.
Muturi lost the Siakago seat to Kivuti in 2007.
But Muturi has not commended on the proposal to be Ruto’s deputy, but some residents think he is not yet ripe for the number two position.
Muturi hails from the Ndamata clan of the Mbeere community.