As the D-day for Deputy President William Ruto’s Kirinyaga visit has dawned, Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru’s and Woman Representative Wangui Ngirici’s supporters engaged in a confrontation outside a Kianyaga church on Sunday.
Each camp carried placards with their preferred candidate as they chanted outside Kianyaga ACK church in Gichugu.
Earlier, Waiguru had accused the Kianyaga DCIO of summoning her team and threatening to arrest them.
” Please stop intimidating my team using security forces,” she tweeted on Sunday.
The bruising political jostling between Waiguru and Ngirici that has put Kirinyaga into focus, comes after the entry of Waiguru into the UDA camp.
Both leaders who have been political rivals are eyeing the governor’s seat on the UDA ticket in 2022.
After the church service at ACK Kianyaga, Ruto is scheduled for a meet the people tour at Kianyaga, Kutus and Kerugoya towns.
Over the past one week both camps have been mobilising their grassroots supporters and impressing upon them to show up in large numbers during the DP’s visit.
Through their teams, both have also published posters with both their images and that of Ruto which have been doing rounds in various social media platforms.
Waiguru on Thursday facilitated over 300 boda boda riders who made rounds in a considerable number of areas across the county brandishing posters to welcome the DP as they shouted Waiguru’s 2022 elections slogans.
Later in the day, the governor hosted them at her official residence in Kagio where she impressed upon them to show up on Sunday in large numbers.
She said she can’t wait for Sunday to host the DP whom she said she believes will form the next government.
While hitting out at Ngirici, the county chief noted that no individual had the monopoly of a national political party irrespective of playing a key role in building it.
“The party does not belong to an individual, it belongs to wananchi. Much as you helped in building it from scratch, that is not to mean you lock people out. We need to grow the party by bringing everyone on board including all our competitors.”
Waiguru said her decision to join UDA was informed by the electorate.
On the other hand, Ngirici who has been missing in action in recent Ruto rallies and meetings, reiterated that she shall be the host during DP’s ACK Kianyaga’s visit.
Speaking on Friday in Mwea, Ngirici said she in the company of Gichugu MP Gichimu Githinji extended the church invitation to Ruto in May after he played a massive role in its development.
“His pending visit to the church dates back in May when Gichimu and I were sent over to him by the church vicar requesting him to be a guest of honour during its consecration ceremony for his enormous contribution in its development.”
“Therefore I personally shall be there as a host, one of the guests of honour and as a mother’s union member which is a faction of the ACK church.”
Ngirici has equally reiterated that she is going for nothing less than the governor’s seat in the 2022 election as she has already made up her mind.
On her political future in UDA, the county MP said she still is in the party as she continues to pick some vital lessons for the mistakes she has made over the course of her political career.
