'I will not campaign for Governor Kimemia,' ex water CS Sicily Kariuki says

Former water Cabinet Secretary (CS) Sicily Kariuki now says that she will not campaign for incumbent Nyandarua Governor Francis Kimemia despite shelving her interest in the seat ahead of the August polls. 

This comes after Kariuki, during a press conference at the Jubilee headquarters in Nairobi on Thursday last week, announced the decision in a move which political analysts reckon means the incumbent will likely fly Jubilee’s flag at the August polls.  

"I will not campaign for Kimemia because there is a conflict of interest," she said on the Newnight Show

The former minister similarly underscored that her vision for the county remains intact despite dropping her bid, hinting that she will likely pursue the governorship seat down the line.  

“I left the government and I was very clear on the party whose ticket I was going to seek and that is Jubilee. Having got there it became difficult to make a decision between myself and Kimemia. They say politics is about positions but leadership is about vision,” Kariuki said.

“My vision does not die for the people of Nyandarua and that is why I resigned because I didn’t wish to split at the middle.”

While insisting that a lot of Nyandarua residents were firmly behind her bid, the former CS highlighted how President Uhuru Kenyatta’s move to endorse inclusive politics influenced her difficult decision, which she says was not welcomed by a large number of her followers.  

“The president has been struggling to demonstrate what unity and peace can do in a country hence the handshake with former premier Raila Odinga,” she said.

“If I took a hard position it would have meant that I was a poor student of what peace can do in matters development.”

Kariuki went on to thank Jubilee’s leadership, her family and supporters for the role they played in informing her decision, noting that the outfit’s hierarchy acted as a mediator, akin to King Solomon in the Bible who famously settled a dispute between two first-time mothers.

“Adaptive leadership which I have been exposed to also taught me that depending on the situation you can rise above it, below it or continue fighting,” she said.  

The CS however insisted that she was firmly behind Azimio la Umoja leader Raila Odinga and that she would continue drumming up support for him ahead of the polls, mirroring utterances she made when she announced her exit from Nyandarua's top seat last month.