• Karua is often criticised for taking a hardline position when the country was disintegrating into chaos.
• The Narc-K leader says she fought for Kibaki the same way James Orengo did for Raila Odinga.
Image: FILE
Narc Kenya leader Martha Karua fought for retired President Mwai Kibaki during the disputed 2007 elections only to be undermined by his administration later.
Karua, who spoke on K24’s Punchline on Sunday, nonetheless has no regrets for fighting for Kibaki, as she was also defending her vote when disputes began to emerge over the presidential results.
“I voted for him so I was also defending my vote. I am glad he gave me an opportunity to serve Kenyans as a Cabinet minister,” she said.
The Narc-K leader is often criticised for taking a hardline position when the country was disintegrating into chaos and her insistence that Kibaki won the elections.
She was an agent of the Party of National Unity, the vehicle Kibaki used to seek a second term.
Karua said she fought for Kibaki the same way Senate minority leader James Orengo did for former Prime Minister Raila Odinga. “I did for Kibaki what Orengo did for Raila. It would be undemocratic to say only Raila deserved an agent at KICC,” she explained.
Her relationship with Kibaki was short-lived and Karua became the first minister to resign from the Grand Coalition Government in April 2009. The then Justice and Constitutional Affairs minister said she could not compromise on certain things, a matter which culminated in her resignation.
“I was an outsider in Kibaki’s government on matters of integrity. When they wanted to pay the Anglo Leasing and I completely resisted, there was a fallout. They ended paying later after I had left,” she recalled.
The Anglo Leasing scam saw the country lose an estimated Sh50 billion after security-related contracts were awarded to companies that failed to honour their part of the deals.
Karua, who at the time referred to in some quarters as the "Iron Lady" and the "only man in Kibaki's Cabinet", said the President held her in high regards and trusted her to run his errands.
“I did all that for him but still there was consistent undermining of my ministry,” she stated.
I looked at the crowd working with Kenyatta and was very sure I would be a misfit but he (Uhuru) is a person you can work with easily. Things that have happened in his Cabinet have confirmed that I was right. There is no need of entering into a government and then resign even before you sit.Narc-Kenya leader Martha Karua
She confirmed that President Uhuru Kenyatta had offered her a Cabinet position after the 2017 elections but she declined.
Karua unsuccessfully vied for the presidency in 2013 before trying her luck in Kirinyaga gubernatorial race pitting her against Anne Waiguru in 2017. She again lost.
The Narc-K leader said Deputy President William Ruto is part of a group that has tainted Uhuru’s administration, arguing that he does not have a clean record.
“He has never been convicted of any wrongdoing. Neither has he been cleared of the accusations,” she said.
She recalled that Ruto was arraigned when he was the Agriculture minister for defrauding Kenya Pipeline Company but the case collapsed because witnesses did not avail themselves to testify.
“Then there is the Muteshi land which he returned to the rightful owner and the Weston (Hotel) saga, which he admitted the land was grabbed though he is saying it was not him. That is not a very clean record,” Karua said.
The former Gichugu MP said she does not have a problem supporting Raila for the presidency should he decide to run.
"If I have to choose between Raila and Ruto, I would go with Raila," she said.
She, however, was non-committal on whether she will be going for the presidency or a gubernatorial seat in 2022.
“My options are open. I will make the declaration at the right time,” she stated.