Karua at the heart of Uhuru succession game plan

A quiet but determined push is underway to have Martha Karua take over as President Uhuru Kenyatta’s successor as the undisputed Mt Kenya kingpin.

The plan would also make Karua, a former Justice Minister, a running mate to one of the top contenders in the 2022 presidential contest.

The hint at Karua's elevation was first given by President Kenyatta's technical assistant, Mutahi Ngunyi.

There is only one man in Gema who can fix William Ruto. And that man is Martha Karua.

Ngunyi, an influential figure in Uhuru's inner circle, said Karua should deputise Raila in the contest against Deputy President William Ruto. He branded the ticket 'RaRua'.

“Maybe, maybe. There is only one man in Gema who can fix William Ruto. And that man is Martha Karua," Ngunyi tweeted. "At this rate, Raila will have to work very hard not to become president. Especially if he runs with 'Happy Birthday', Martha Karua,' referring to a gift.

However, it has now emerged that Karua is being eyed by a number of  political players, including Ruto and ANC boss Musalia Mudavadi.

Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria told the Star Karua is the only candidate with the capacity to vigorously fight for Mt Kenya's interests.

Kuria said he supports Karua to succeed Uhuru as the region’s political chieftain but also as the country’s second-in-command in the next government. 

“My position is that as the people of Mt Kenya, we are offering Karua as the running mate to the presidential candidate that the region will decide to support in 2022,” Kuria told the Star. 

“Karua has the track record and the political stamina to be the country’s deputy president in the next government," Kuria said.

Curiously, Kuria, a former insider in Ruto's camp, did not say whom Karua should deputise.

Karua, who has been referred to as the Iron Lady, is a member of the Mt Kenya Unity Forum that also brings together Kuria and The Service Party leader, Mwangi Kiunjuri. 

The forum, which Karua chairs, was launched in August to push for the vote-rich region’s political and economic interests as part of its pre-2022 negotiations with presidential candidates. 

However, the push has split Mt Kenya leaders and some of Ruto's close allies have trashed the proposal.

On Wednesday, Mathira MP Rigathi Gachagua, a key member of  Ruto’s think tank, dismissed Kuria's suggestion, saying he should not load a running mate on aspirants. 

“He (Kuria) can as well name Karua as his running mate. Given that he has his own political party, he cannot try to prescribe a running mate for anybody, including Ruto,” Gachagua said. 

Gachagua, Ruto’s main point man in the region, fired a shot across the bow to Kuria, saying he should keep off matters in the DP's United Democratic Alliance as he is not a member. 

“In UDA, we shall do our thing when we get there the best way we know how,” Gachagua said. 

Gachagua is among pro-Ruto allies from the region seen as a possible running mate.

During the Madaraka Day celebrations on October 20, Raila publicly named Karua and Chief Justice Martha Koome as among Kenyan heroes for their roles in the Second Liberation.

The entry of Karua as a possible Raila running mate makes the field of possibilities even more crowded and complicated.

Some of the big names being mentioned in the Raila running mate equation include former Gatanga MP Peter Kenneth, Agriculture Cabinet Secretary Peter Munya, Health CS Mutahi Kagwe and Nakuru Governor Lee Kinyanjui.

Karua shot into the national limelight in the 90s but her role in defending President Mwai Kibaki's controversial 2007 electoral victory put her at the heart of Kenya's politics.

She served in the panel that brokered a peace deal in 2007 between Kibaki and Raila, following the political deadlock triggered by the post-election violence.

Then serving as Justice minister, Karua was known for her uncompromising positions that affirmed the Party of National Unity's wish, emerging as one of the firmest and hardline negotiators. 

Martha is not a Kikuyu in the definition of the Kikuyus, she is a nationalist and she is also so radical that even Kikuyus  fear her. She has a history of struggle, meaning she can sit properly with Raila's profile.

Analysts say Karua is a favourite for politicians seeking votes in Mt Kenya because Mt Kenya people have faith and trust in her.

“Her role as the main defender of the (Mwai) Kibaki presidency and the 2007 Kofi Annan negotiations still lingers in almost every Mt Kenya adult’s home,” political analyst Paul Lugaria said.

Those pushing for Karua as  the country’s next second-in-command argue that her unwavering and firm positions would safeguard the Mt Kenya interests in the next government. 

Prof Gitile Naituli, a former National Cohesion and Integration Commission member, said Karua would be a game-changer if Raila picked her. 

“If Raila were to take Martha as a running mate, that would be a total game changer. Martha is not a Kikuyu in the definition of the Kikuyus, she is a nationalist and she is also so radical that even Kikuyus themselves fear her. She has a history of democratisation struggle. This means she can sit properly with Raila’s profile,” he said. 

Karua was a member of the opposition political movements that successfully agitated for the re-introduction of multi-party democracy in Kenya in the early 1990s after resigning as a magistrate in 1987. 

She served as MP for 20 years from 1992 to 2012. 

However, addressing the press on Saturday, October 24, Karua dispelled reports that she had been approached for the deputy president post. 

Karua said she was focusing on being Kirinyaga governor.

"I have said that I am only vying here for the gubernatorial seat, then you should believe me and stop asking around," Karua said.

"I can tell you standing here, no one has requested me to be their deputy."

She stated that most presidential candidates will settle on their running mates in May 2022

"You can vie for a deputy president's seat, you'll have to float in the air until May next year awaiting a candidate to have mercy on you," the Narc party leader stated.

The push to have Karua become deputy president comes at a time when there is a lot of jostling in the camps of leading presidential candidates for the second-in-command post, 10 months to the polls. 

However, allies of both Raila and Uhuru are also said to be crafting a watertight political deal that favours Kenneth, a former assistant minister, as running mate.

Nominated MP Maina Kamanda, who is Raila’s key backer in Mt Kenya, says the President will make the final decision on who will succeed him. 

“Whoever the President shall tell us to follow, that will be our next leader and if he says he will be the running mate. then we will abide by the President’s choice,” Kamanda said. 

Kamanda, who has openly led politicians from his Murang’a backyard to front Kenneth as Raila’s running mate, maintained that the ODM boss will also have latitude to decide whom to work with. 

(Edited by V. Graham)