This Is Our Agenda For Our People, Declare Kiambu ‘Big Five’.

Gubernatorial aspirants James Nyoro (extreme left), ferdinand Waititu, Rev. David Ngari, Aquiline Njoki and John Mugwe in a show of solidarity at St Patricks Primary School ground where they vowed to unite to oust incumbent William Kabogo.

Five gubernatorial candidates from Kiambu have formed a coalition they hope will oust incumbent William Kabogo who they have accused of being irresponsive of the people’s plight and abuse of office throughout his 4-year rule.

During prayer rally to mark the end of 40 days of prayer and fasting by a section of the clergy at the St. Patricks Primary School ground in Thika, the five, Rev. Dr. David K. Ngari (Gakuyo), Ferdinand Waititu (Baba Yao), Dr. James Nyoro, John Mugwe and Aquiline Njoki vowed to rally together behind a single candidate.

In an historic unity bid reminiscent of the 2002 Narc accord, the leaders said that they were ready to sacrifice their personal ambitions for the good of the people of Kiambu whom they claimed have had four long years of suffering. However, the aspirants fell short of naming their candidate but promised to announce their political line up at a later date.

In his speech, Dr. Nyoro said that this convention was a great idea as it united candidates who were competing for the same seats. He reckoned that it was a gesture that the country was mightier than anyone of them

“What this arrangement provides is a platform that allows every candidate to stand in the same podium and compete against each other’s manifestos. It is an ideal opportunity for candidates to tell Kiambu residents what they have done for them and elaborate their plan for the next 5 years. In this way, the people will have an opportunity to weigh their leaders and choose the ones they feel would drive their agenda to improve their lives,” said Nyoro.

He reminded the people of Kiambu that devolution was about moving power from the centre to the people and it was for this reason that they needed to have this kind of participatory mechanisms.

“We have learnt a very good lesson here today. We need to have all these participatory mechanisms so that the people are the ones deciding the development projects that suits them most. And if that can start by moving power from that one strong candidate as it is the case today to quite a number, then we can have a comparative advantage of running the county,” said Nyoro.

“Look at all the 5 candidates who gathered here today. You will see that each one of them is strong in their own rights. Each one of them is bringing something different to the table. There is someone who is very strong politically, another one is very strong in investments and creating jobs. People like me have great expertise in management and so on and so forth,” he concluded.

Rev. Dr. Gakuyo said that time had come for leaders to show political maturity in the way they executed their campaigns.

“Chest thumping and confrontational politics have been overtaken by events. The biggest evil bedeviling our country is the spirit of dictatorship among our leaders who listen to nobody and misuse public resources to suppress dissenting views and curtail the political rights of their competitors. For instance, how can Governor Kabogo justify his decision to deny us the use of the Thika Stadium which is a public resource?” asked Gakuyo.

Gakuyo reminded all his competitors that all elective posts were a public property and everyone should be let free to solicit for votes and whoever they people would choose amongst them should be accorded the support they deserved.

“Let the competition be about our ideas and agenda for the people and not how we can pay a few hooligans to disrupt or shout down our competitors. I have fasted for 40 days to pray for peace and prosperity in Kenya. Those spreading rumours that I have opted out of the race will be in for a rude shock. I am back and I will definitely give all my competitors a run for their money starting this coming Monday,” he added.

Kabete MP Ferdinand Waititu said that it was time the people of Kiambu wrestled role of building their county from the jaws of dictatorship and egoism.

“We have agreed to join hands with my fellow competitors with only one mission, and that is to wrestle back the power back to the people of Kiambu. We want to ensure transparency in the leadership of Kiambu. We want development in this county and not a one-man show,” said Waititu.

A section of Kiambu leaders in a prayer session during prayer rally to mark the end of 40 days of prayer and fasting by a section of the clergy on Saturday in Thika.

He argued that their merger had the blessing of the people of Kiambu and majority of the elected leaders and promised that they would not let them down in their quest.

While describing theirs as a combination, Waititu said that the writing was already on the wall to send Governor Kabogo packing.

“We guarantee you that Kabogo will be out of office by 8am (on 8^th August). And when we assume office, we will ensure that we create a ‘men’s fund’ in our budget as a matter of priority. As you all know, our men have been so marginalised when it came to accessing government funding for business start-ups. We will also ensure that the elderly and the vulnerable access more funding I our government,” he added.

The fete was attended by MPs Alice Ng’ang’a (Thika), Jude Njomo (Kiambu), Kigo Njenga (Gatundu North), Kiambu senatorial aspirants Stephen Ndichu, Karungo Wa Thang’wa and Juliet Kimemia. Others included Women representative aspirants Gathoni Wa Muchomba, Gladys Chania and Jane Wanjiru Kamunge.