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Waiguru to vie for Kirinyaga Governor’s seat

Waiguru who earlier hinted she would vie for Nairobi pointed out that she made the decision to shift to Kirinyaga after wide consultations with local elders and leaders who have assured her of their support/KEVIN GITAU

Waiguru who earlier hinted she would vie for Nairobi pointed out that she made the decision to shift to Kirinyaga after wide consultations with local elders and leaders who have assured her of their support/KEVIN GITAU

NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 26 – Former Devolution Cabinet Secretary Anne Waiguru has formally announced she will vie for the Kirinyaga gubernatorial seat under the Jubilee Party in next year’s General Election.

Waiguru who earlier hinted she would vie for Nairobi pointed out that she made the decision to shift to Kirinyaga after wide consultations with local elders and leaders who have assured her of their support.

“A lot of consultations have taken place. If you remember right from Nairobi, it was a request by a certain group of women and I have had many months of consultations by a variety of people especially at home and it is good to start from where you came from and that is why I want to vie in Kirinyaga,” she explained.

She spoke Friday morning during a press conference, after receiving her certificate on joining The National Alliance (TNA) at the party headquarters where she exuded confidence of sailing through.

“I think that I was a technocrat and there is nothing they did not take me through so I don’t think that there is anything I haven’t faced… I think that I am cut for the task with God ahead of me,” she stated.

Waiguru was awarded a golden membership certificate and said she would actively participate in the merger of parties affiliated to the Jubilee Party in early September.

Some 12 political parties, including President Uhuru Kenyatta’s TNA and Deputy President William Ruto’s United Republican Party (URP), have agreed to fold and join the new movement.

The parties will be dissolved officially on September 8.

During the meeting at TNA headquarters, Waiguru further emphasised the importance of women taking up leadership roles in various posts within the government despite the many hurdles they may face.

“The women in the Senate and National Assembly have done quite a lot. I was the Minister for Gender in this country and I know that they pulled together. I think one of our biggest hindrances are the men. I don’t think they appreciate the importance of having women as equals in leadership,” she stated. “One of the reasons that some of us have decided to join politics is actually to help move the country towards that direction where you can say that a woman can be an equal leader to a man.”

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She indicated that the country is currently a patriarchal society which does not put much importance on women vying for leadership positions.

“We are still a very patriarchal society. We are still very influenced by our upbringing but we hope that will change and as we soon as we see more and more leaders getting into office, then we hope that we will be able to achieve the two thirds gender rule,” she stated.

“As you know, the African Union (AU) has already moved towards the 50-50 agenda and so we are hoping that we will move just beyond the two-thirds and move towards the 50-50 in every position in this country.”

She encouraged women to come out in large numbers and compete with their male counterparts especially during the general elections set for next year.

“I believe that women should fight and that is why we are here. We are not asking for nominations, we are going to the ground and we are going to be fighting it out with men. I think that is important but I think that because of the nature of our politics, sometimes affirmative action is required,” she stated.

Waiguru had early indicated that she will be battling it out with other aspirants seeking to unseat Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero, but she stated that after consultations she settled for her home county.

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