Presidential running mates Martha Karua and Rigathi Gachagua came out swinging in their debate last night as they sought to shed political baggage that has weighed heavily on their shoulders since their nomination.
They sparred over their coalitions’ manifestos and traded barbs over their track records in public service, one as an activist-lawyer and the other, a ruthless administrator during President Daniel arap Moi’s administration.
Mr Gachagua was controversially picked by Deputy President William Ruto against the wishes of many Kenya Kwanza MPs. The combative Mathira MP is fighting graft and money laundering charges in a coalition that is already under scrutiny over ethical issues. Mr Gachagua and his co-accused denied all the charges before Milimani Anti-Corruption Chief Magistrate Lawrence Mugambi. He was released on a Sh12 million bond in July last year.
What I'll do as Deputy President - Karua, Gachagua
Dr Ruto insists the criminal investigations facing Kenya Kwanza leaders is political harassment driven by President Uhuru Kenyatta’s administration. He has pledged to halt “weaponisation” of corruption if elected on August 9.
Mr Gachagua has also faced accusations going back to the period he served as a District Officer during the government-instigated ethnic clashes in Molo. He has denied ever serving in Molo.
In 2001, he moved to Nairobi where he served as the personal assistant to Mr Uhuru Kenyatta, then-Minister for Local Government. He served Mr Kenyatta until 2006. His profile on Parliament’s website is silent on what he did from that time until his election as Mathira MP in 2017.
Nakuru Governor Lee Kinyanjui and his Laikipia counterpart Ndiritu Muriithi, who are Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition flag-bearer Raila Odinga’s point men in the region, have publicly challenged the Mathira MP to apologise to the community for his alleged role in past atrocities.
Ms Karua is viewed as a clean politician with no history of corruption. Her nomination helped buttress Azimio’s plank as the camp that will seriously fight graft. President Kenyatta recently stated that while he may have been lenient on those implicated in corruption, Ms Karua would spare nobody. But despite the squeaky-clean image, Ms Karua has some skeletons in her closet.
In 2015, British newspapers reported that she had been named by a whistle-blower as a beneficiary of funds from the giant British American Tobacco when it was trying to block a rival firm from winning a multimillion-pound contract in Kenya. She was the Gichugu MP at the time, and admitted to receiving some Sh2 million, which she took as a personal donation from BAT intermediary Paul Hopkins towards her 2013 presidential campaign. She denied any wrongdoing, maintaining that she could not be corrupted and invited authorities to investigate the matter.
Ms Karua also faces questions on her temperament, particularly in regard to walking out of President Kibaki’s government in a huff after a 2009 disagreement over her role as Justice minister. There are also red flags over her reputation as one of the hardliners in the Kibaki camp who nearly stymied the peace pact brokered by former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan to end the 2007 post-election violence.
Uhuru wanted me to abandon Ruto - Gachagua on frozen assets
On temperament, however, it is Mr Gachagua who faces the most intense scrutiny for his unguarded utterances on the campaign trail.
The Mathira MP will have to work extra hard to refine his image within and out of Mt Kenya region, more so on the cases he is currently facing in court while Ms Karua will have to work on the perception that whenever she is disgruntled, she walks out.
Political commentator Javas Bigambo argues that both running mates bring with them historical baggage to their campaigns, but the election offers them a platform for redemption.
“Mr Gachagua is bogged down by the perception of being a tool in the hands of the Kanu regime, who was instrumental in causing trauma to some people. Karua carries with her the perception that whenever she is dissatisfied or disgruntled, she always opts to walk away,” he said.
Gatanga MP Joseph Nduati, Mr Odinga’s ally, says Mr Gachagua’s arrogance puts off many leaders from Kenya Kwanza and Azimio la Umoja.
The Mathira MP has already been rejected by some Kenya Kwanza affiliated outfits such as Tujibebe Wakenya Party of Mr William Kabogo, Chama Cha Kazi (CCK) of Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria and The Service Party (TSP) of Mr Mwangi Kiunjuri. They accuse him of dictatorship.
“Ms Karua’s nomination ate into Kenya Kwanza in Mt Kenya and the picking of Mr Gachagua eroded Dr Ruto’s popularity,” says Mr Nduati.
“We were looking at integrity because Baba’s government is not going to be tainted by crooks. We also looked at the issues of principle and Ms Karua has demonstrated that she thrives on principle, not political wings of the day. Thirdly, we pride ourselves in intellectual rigour,” says Mr Muriithi, who is also the chair of Mr Odinga’s presidential campaign board.
Battle for deputies: Ruth Mutua puts Justina Wamae to task on bhang pledge
“Ms Karua is a killer card that is giving those thieves, deceitful, greedy and uncultured competitors sleepless nights owing to her track record against corruption and mediocrity in public service,” adds former Gatanga MP Peter Kenneth.
Tharaka-Nithi Senator Kithure Kindiki, who was overlooked by Dr Ruto for the position of running mate, disagrees.
“I doubt she will be able to turn the tide of UDA and Kenya Kwanza, not even in Kirinyaga. She will not withstand the tide of Kenya Kwanza. It is too strong,” he says. “For the first time, the use of ethnicity as the organising principle of our politics has been dismantled. Those who think Ms Karua can turn the tide anywhere because she speaks a certain language are wasting their time.”
Murang’a Senator Irungu Kang’ata maintains that even with the public image as a fighter for justice, Ms Karua has shown no real results for the women’s cause.
“When we are told that she is a no-nonsense worker, we want to be fed with real evidence that she, in the span of her service to the country, empowered women to have title deeds, escape the evil of disinheritance once their husbands die and ensured high returns in their ventures. We do not want our women to be lied to,” he says.
Gachagua hits out at Karua for being a 'State project' in Azimio
Prof Masibo Lumala, who teaches communication at Moi University says Mr Gachagua’s recent utterances about inviting villagers to State House for “meat and rice” portends that the Kenya Kwanza government will take the country back to the Moi era of handouts.
“What he said about rice and meat is an indication that the Ruto-Gachagua government would want to have a Moi kind of government. Ruto was a member of YK92, a student of Moi,” says the don.
