• “You cannot have someone who has been there over the last 10 years telling you that they are going to change. They cannot change,” she said while poking her rivals.
• She insisted that Kabogo, Wamatangi and Nyoro cannot be the change Kiambu residents deserve.
Image: Courtesy
Kiambu needs a turn around and that cannot be made possible by leaders who have been there, gubernatorial candidate Mwende Gatabaki has said.
Speaking during the county's gubernatorial debate on Citizen TV, Gatabaki hit out at her competitors who are attempting to make a come back to the county leadership.
“You cannot have someone who has been there over the last 10 years telling you that they are going to change. They cannot change,” she said while poking her rivals.
Gatabaki is seeking to become Kiambu governor on a Safina party ticket.
She will battle it out with former Governor William Kabogo, senator Kimani Wamatangi, Thika MP Wainaina wa Jungle and Governor James Nyoro.
She insisted that Kabogo, Wamatangi and Nyoro cannot be the change Kiambu residents deserve.
“Kiambu needs a turnaround and it can't be done with the same leaders who have been there. It needs one with leadership skills, management excellence and experience in operational excellence,” Gatabaki added.
She further stated that she was not aligned to any of the presidential candidates, arguing that she has left it open for her voters to decide .
“I am not aligned to any of the presidential candidates. When campaigning I leave it open for my supporters to decide which presidential candidate they want,” she said.
The gubernatorial hopeful claimed that some political leaders in Kiambu are behind the selling of alcohol to residents.
“There is a conflict of interest when it comes to dealing with alcohol and drug abuse in Kiambu because some of the leaders are also suppliers.”
She rose to the political arena in December 2017 when she sent a request to President Uhuru Kenyatta seeking the release of her husband, who at the time was in police custody. She is the wife to economist David Ndii.
Gatabaki is an accomplished policy expert — the daughter of former Githunguri Senior Chief Peter Gatabaki of Thakwa — and Kanu’s Juliet Kimemia.
She has picked David Wanjohi as her deputy.
Her key pillars in her manifesto are youth empowerment, agriculture and how to mitigate climate change.
“Under my three pillars of building human capital development, I have a green revolution that seeks to intensify agricultural productivity and maximise small-holder farmers’ income," she said.
"My goal is to transform Kiambu County from a net importer of food to an exporter in five years by embracing agriculture value chain development and increasing value addition.”