Raila Odinga’s running mate Martha Karua has excited sections of the population, especially the millions of Kenyan women and young girls who see her as the embodiment of a promise come true.
Whether this excitement will translate to votes for her and her presidential flagbearer is still early to tell, but those we talked to this week, including senior politicians within the Azimio coalition and tens of women across the country, indicated that she was making an emotional connection with some voters and creating an ideological following among others.
Her selling points are threefold, according to those we talked to; her track record as a governance and human rights crusader, her stoicism on a campaign trail dominated by vile males, and the mark of gallantry and pluckiness that her candidature paints in the minds of women, especially young and middle-aged ones.
From her small Narc Kenya political outfit, this doyenne of Kirinyaga politics has now been thrust to the national limelight, analysed on television and newspaper articles, cajoled and flattered on social media, and even attacked on the rigour of the campaign trail.
The Nation this week learnt that, while she had been quietly agitating for leadership and governance positions under the Narc Kenya umbrella, her political fortunes started changing on Sunday, May 15 this year, when President Uhuru Kenyatta and Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya flag bearer Raila Odinga sealed a deal to name her as the coalition’s presidential running mate.
Top Azimio leaders had held a meeting at Gracia Gardens Hotel with Ms Karua and other coalition luminaries shortly before Mr Odinga presided over a mega rally at the historic Kamukunji grounds, where initial reports had indicated that the former Cabinet minister would be unveiled as Mr Odinga’s choice for deputy president.
That did not happen, and Mr Odinga told a raucous crowd that he would name his running mate at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre the following day.
Just two months ealier, Ms Karua was nowhere near President Kenyatta’s succession matrix. In any case the Azimio movement was grounded on President Kenyatta supporting Mr Odinga’s presidential candidacy and in turn getting the right to put forward a running mate from his Jubilee Party.
She was also a late comer into Azimio, having been mostly associated with a Mt Kenya grouping dominated by politicians linked to the rival presidential campaign of Deputy President William Ruto, such as Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria and former Agriculture minister Mwangi Kiunjuri.
Ms Karua, too, was also one of the fiercest critics of the Building Bridges Initiative constitutional amendment proposal sponsored by President Kenyatta and Mr Odinga, a stance that placed her in the ‘No’ camp led by Dr Ruto.
That, perhaps, explains why her entry into Azimio at Serena Hotel on the evening of March 23 caused jitters within and outside the coalition, and shortly afterwards dramatically changed its succession equation.
Bishop Jane Kirima, the daughter of the late businessman and Nairobi politician Gerishon Kirima, revealed to the Nation how she had to convince Ms Karua to join Mr Odinga’s camp. She has long family ties with Ms Karua and runs the Kirima Prayer Centre in Kiambu.
“I’m a chaplain at the Azimio Youth for The Handshake Alliance (YoTHA) and that’s where we had a discussion with the officials to reach out to Martha and implore upon her to work with Mr Odinga,” Ms Kirima told this reporter yesterday.
She is among officials of the Martha Karua Caucus chaired by former Gatanga MP Humphrey Njuguna, and which organised Ms Karua’s events in the lead up to her being named Mr Odinga’s running mate.
When Azimio started working on its presidential election strategies, early front-runners for running mate included former Gatanga MP Peter Kenneth, Laikipia Governor Ndiritu Muriithi, Nakuru Governor Lee Kinyanjui and Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya, all of whom had backed Mr Odinga from the word go, defying the strong anti-Raila sentiments in Mt Kenya, which has leaned towards Dr Ruto, even in popularity surveys.
And then, on March 13, Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka, then firmly under the One Kenya Alliance, joined Azimio after a long period of vacillation. With that came even more jostling for the running mate position in the coalition, which was increasingly getting crowded at the top.
Kalonzo, in joining Azimio, dropped his presidential bid and was deliberate in making it clear that he would settle for nothing less than the running mate position. He had also been Mr Odinga’s running mate in the 2013 and 2017 elections, and was seen as key to securing the vital 1.6 million-strong vote of the Lower Eastern region.
To ease pressure on Mr Odinga, the Azimio Council chaired by President Kenyatta held its inaugural meeting on April 21 where it formed a running mate selection panel. When the panel called for constituent parties to put forward their nominees for consideration, President Kenyatta’s Jubilee settled on Mr Kenneth and a surprise package in Murang’a County Woman Rep Sabina Chege.
Both, significantly, are from Murang’a, a major Central Kenya county which felt it was its turn to produce a top national leader after Nyeri and Kiambu, which have enjoyed the presidency. From the Jubilee list, Mr Kenneth was believed to have earned Mr Odinga’s trust and confidence with his enthusiastic campaigns in Mt Kenya for the ODM leader.
Others who names were received for vetting and interview were Ms Karua, Mr Musyoka, Mr Munya, ODM deputy party leaders Hassan Joho and Wycliffe Oparanya, Narc leader Charity Ngilu, National Liberal Party leader Stephen Tarus and Nakuru Governor Lee Kinyanjui of Ubuntu Peoples’ Forum.
The chairman of Mr Odinga’s presidential campaign board, Laikipia Governor Muriithi, says that against all odds and despite Ms Karua’s party affiliation, she “scored higher marks compared to all the other contenders” for the running mate position.
“Martha, frankly, ticked all the boxes. There was a lot of consideration, including depth of political experience as well as integrity as we wanted one who rhymes with our candidate. Karua also brought to the ticket the gender card, which to us was an indicator of where we wanted to take the party and a statement that women deserve a place at the highest level of national leadership.”
Dr Noah Wekesa, who chaired the Azimio running mate selection panel, said the criteria centered on constitutional qualifications, understanding of government, the personality of the candidates, political acumen, compatibility and loyalty, strategic significance and the fight against corruption, among others.
The candidates had also to give the panel their understanding of the key challenges facing Kenya and their proposals on what should be the Azimio government’s priorities upon taking office.
Emphasis, he noted, was laid on electability, capacity of vote mobilisation, transformative leadership, dependability, political tolerance and technical expertise in political campaigns.
Jubilee Director of Elections and a member of Mr Odinga’s national presidential campaign team, Kieni MP Kanini Kega, said had it not been for Ms Karua’s credentials and the fact that Azimio is premised on mutual respect for its partners, Jubilee would have laid claim to the running mate slot since it is the major coalition partner in Azimio.
He pointed out that it did not matter where the running mate was to come as long as the “person fit the qualifications of a running mate.”
Jubilee vice chairman David Murathe said it was only Ms Karua who was best placed to fight for the interests of Mt Kenya region and the country as Mr Odinga’s number two. Mr Murathe said Mr Odinga and Ms Karua ticket will charm the country, with the possibility of the country having the first female Deputy President since independence.
He pointed out that the choice of Ms Karua is vital for Mr Odinga in terms of the value of the vote and the chemistry and charm she brings to the campaign trail, and will excite both Mt Kenya and the national women support base.
“This is the person who can do it. She will take Ruto head-on,” he said.
