Azimio la Umoja deputy presidential aspirant Martha Karua took the coalition’s campaigns to Tharaka Nithi County where she held a consultative economic forum with residents at Kathwana on Thursday, in a quest to popularize Azimio’s flagbearer Raila Odinga in Mt Kenya region.
Karua asked residents to elect leaders who put the interests of the people first, saying there was need to unite the people, safeguard and ensure fair and equitable allocation of resources.
In remarks targeting Deputy President William Ruto, Karua expressed the need for leaders and politicians to respect the President, adding that nothing can be achieved from disrespecting the head of state.
“If someone wants to be President yet he can’t respect the President, who will respect him if he wins the seat? If you can’t respect the President then you can’t respect Kenyans. What you are teaching us now is how to disrespect the President. If you show disrespect as a leader then you don’t deserve to be elected” – Martha Karua
In a bid to cement Raila’s popularity in the county, Karua insisted that he was a transformative and visionary leader, maintaining Raila was a leader who put the interest of the nation first, giving reference to 2002 when he shelved his presidential ambitions in support of Mwai Kibaki and the handshake between him and President Uhuru after the 2017 elections.
Split in Azimio
The Azimio la Umoja camp faces a huge test in the county, with the coalition fielding three gubernatorial aspirants in the general elections.
In Thursday’s meeting, Karua was forced to explain the absence of Jubilee and Wiper party members but insisted that all was well and talks were in place to deliver a win for the coalition.
Jubilee’s Professor Erastus Njoka and Wiper Party gubernatorial aspirant Francis Nyamu Kagwima skipped the event.
NARC-Kenya’s gubernatorial aspirant Dr. Mzalendo Kibunjia and Jubilee Party senatorial aspirant Paul Mugambi welcomed Karua to Kathwana, with Dr. Kibunjia saying he was best suited to manage the affairs and resources of the county.
The former Chair National Cohesion and Integration Commission and former Director National Museums of Kenya hopes to tackle unemployment in the county and has promised to build an industry every financial year.
Jubilee’s senatorial aspirant Paul Mugambi insisted on the need to elect in a Senator who understood the law and operations of the senate, saying he was the right candidate and that he would walk in the footsteps of the current Senator, Kithure Kindiki.
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