National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi has publicly declared he will be in the race to succeed President Uhuru Kenyatta next year.
Muturi made the revelation when he hosted religious leaders at his home in Mbeere North, Embu county, ending days of speculation around his political activities.
The Speaker said he was confident he would clinch the country’s top seat, coming out as the fifth in the duel which would follow President Kenyatta's exit from the helm.
“We must restore order and dignity in our country and this cannot be achieved when one is not number one. We must have a country that is ruled by discipline and order.”
“I am the only person who can do that if you place me at the top seat,” Muturi told the church leaders he hosted at his home on Saturday.
The Speaker dismissed assertions that he would be some candidates’ running mate, saying he has what it takes to win the presidency.
"I have said it before that I’m not participating in the race to battle for the second position but to clinch the top seat. I know how the country operates and I am capable of handling the state as its president,” he said.
Deputy President William Ruto, Amani leader Musalia Mudavadi, Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka, and former UNCTAD secretary general Mukhisa Kituyi have declared their presidential bids.
Muturi’s sentiments are a culmination of preparatory events he has been engaged in lately, popular among them his crowning at Mukurwe wa Nyagathanga as Mt Kenya spokesman.
His bid has thrown political heavyweights into a panic mode, with his unexpected entry into the Uhuru succession matrix jolting the ambitions of established names in the region.
Leaders among them Murang'a Governor Mwangi Wa Iria and his Kirinyaga counterpart Anne Waiguru have opposed Muturi’s forays in the region.
Governors of Meru, Embu, and Tharaka Nithi have thrown their weight behind Muturi, as well as several MPs who are warming up to join his camp ahead of 2022.
On Sunday, the Speaker called on Kenyans to support his bid saying he will advocate for discipline and transparency in public service.
He argued that practices that violate the tenets have prevented the nation from fully realising its potential.
“Former President Mwai Kibaki brought the Vision 2030 and Uhuru brought the Big Four agenda but due to indiscipline, the initiatives are becoming almost impossible to achieve," he said.
Former Embu Senator Lenny Kivuti and Mbeere North MP Muriuki Njagagua among other local leaders accompanied the Speaker.
"We have our own heir and we are proud. I will support him for presidency come 2022," Kivuti said.
Njagagua said as Mt Kenya East leaders, they will hold a public rally that will see the region support the Speaker’s presidential bid.
"I encourage you to develop a movement and I will take a centre stage in steering your mission forward," the MP said.
Among the pillars of Muturi’s campaign would be the fight against corruption and equal opportunities for all Kenyans.
He urged politicians to go slow on the insults they hurl at each other in public podiums saying all should be allowed to exercise their democratic rights freely.
-Edited by SKanyara
