GATUNDU VOTERS HAVE LITTLE CHOICE OVER THEIR ‘VOICE’ in Parliament Sunday, August 24th 2014 at 10:22 GMT + Gatundu, Kenya: Gatundu South could just be one of the luckiest constituencies in Kenya. It is the only constituency that has produced two presidents out of Kenya’s four leaders. The question lingering in the minds of many people and more so the Gatundu South constituents is that either by design or default voters have mostly not had a say about who represents them in the august House. Since the time of the founding father Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, the electorate in the constituency in Kiambu County have found themselves having an MP in peculiar or controversial circumstances. The constituency is the home to Mzee Kenyatta and his son Uhuru Kenyatta. The founding father represented the constituency in the National Assembly for 15 years — from independence — till he died on August 22, 1978. The older Kenyatta’s nephew Ngengi Muigai then took over, serving in Parliament for one decade until 1988. Ngengi was trounced by Zachary Gakunju, a man who Ngengi had vowed would never answer a call of nature in Parliament’s rest rooms in the 1988 mlolongo elections. Gakunju served for one term and was replaced by Kamuiru Gitau who served until 1997. The constituency was split into two in 1997 — Gatundu North and Gatundu South — and Uhuru Kenyatta vied for the Gatundu South parliamentary seat on a Kanu ticket. Despite his pedigree Uhuru was, however, surprisingly felled by little-known Moses Mwihia who vied on a Social Democratic Party (SDP). Word going around that time was that it was better for the people of Gatundu South to elect a politician who was not popular than elect Uhuru on a Kanu ticket because of the strong aversion to the ruling party. Uhuru, however, captured the seat in the 2002 General Election, but failed to capture the presidency, coming second to Mwai Kibaki. See Also: I didn’t snub Senate, says Kabogo He held onto the seat for two terms until last year when he was elected the county’s fourth president. By this time, by dint of the requirements the new Constitution, a presidential candidate was not allowed to contest for a parliamentary seat. After the 2007 elections, Uhuru was forced to join forces with Kibaki after it became apparent those allied to the Opposition would find it difficult to prevail in central Kenya. The Kenyatta family has largely occupied the Gatundu seat, having held it for 35 years since 1963. The original Gatundu Constituency encompassed Thika town, which was ceded to Juja Constituency after Kenyatta’s death. A scrutiny of previous elections shows that although the Gatundu (previously Gatundu and now Gatundu South) constituents have regularly gone to the polls like the rest of Kenyans, they often end up having MPs through controversial ways. GO TO PAGE 1 2 3 4 5 Next » Ready for Extraordinary Action? All The Creatures Of This Game Are Mutant... People See Nightmares After This! The Most Addictive Game Youve Ever Tried Share this story: Related Stories Kang’ata: Why should I drive in limousines as my people suffer? Millions lost as fire guts down building in Murang’a I didn’t snub Senate, says Kabogo Waiganjos case postponed to next month Next Story » EACC probing corruption in Wajir county Read More... Latest News Four people killed in Matuu accident Why Ababu is too delicate to dump Kang’ata: Why should I drive in limousines as my people suffer? Gatundu voters have little choice over their ‘voice’ in Parliament Auditor General the messenger, so dont shoot him EACC probing corruption in Wajir county Comment Policy The recent entry of controversial politician Moses Kuria into Parliament unopposed has exposed pent up frustrations among some residents who feel it was time they were left to choose their representative to the August House. Kuria, who was facing stiff competition from Kiarie Kamere of the New Democrats Party, went to Parliament unopposed after Kamere surprisingly withdrew from the race in the eleventh hour. All indications were that Kamere would trounce Kuria, especially during the last week of the campaigns. To many residents, it was a matter of time before Kamere, who had controversially lost the TNA primaries to Kuria, was declared MP. All they were waiting for was ballot day, which, unfortunately never came. Kamere made a stunning declaration days to the by-election that “for the sake of unity of Gatundu South people” he was withdrawing from the race. Kamere had given Kuria a run for his money by pulling a huge following on the ground, leaving TNA and its candidate shocked at the new developments. Kuria had hoped that by being a TNA candidate, he would have an easy ride to the National Assembly but that, it appeared, was not going to be the case. Kuria’s predicament became even more complicated after all Kiambu MPs, save for women’s representative Ann Nyokabi and her Juja counterpart Francis Waititu, refused to endorse his candidature for the seat on a TNA ticket. See Also: I didn’t snub Senate, says Kabogo The lawmakers insisted that Gatundu South residents should be left to make their choice. “It is not my business to tell you who to elect as your next MP. I urge you to be extra careful in who you elect come August 7. I call upon you to make an informed choice and only elect a leader who will continue with the good legacy of the late MP,” Gatanga MP Humphrey Njuguna said. Njuguna said the people of Gatundu must be allowed to choose who they want as their next MP without being influenced or intimidated by letting the voice and the will of the people prevail. Faced with the rebellion from area MPs and the growing Kamere wave, the State machinery moved in to action to avoid humiliation. Details later emerged on how Jubilee operatives worked tirelessly to have Kamere step down in favour of Kuria. One of Kamere’s aides disclosed to The Standard on Sunday how State operatives went for Kamere at his brother’s home at 5am and drove him to State House for a critical meeting where he was prevailed upon to sacrifice his ambitions and pull out of the race in favour of the TNAcandidate. via standard media
Posted on: Sun, 24 Aug 2014 08:11:05 +0000