- He told off leaders from the region eyeing the post.
- The statement by the politician comes a few days after Maina Njenga proclaimed himself as the new kingpin of vote-rich region.
Image: FILE
Former Muranga Governor Mwangi Wa Iria has added his voice to the ongoing debate over the Mt Kenya kingpin insisting he fits the bill.
Wa Iria said he is the only person who should be declared as the region’s de facto leader having made an attempt to vie for the presidential seat in the last election.
Maintaining his earlier stance that any community ought to have fielded a candidate in the Statehouse race, the Usawa party leader explained that only a candidate with a sizeable number of votes and following is deserves the post.
“There is no Mt Kenya region leader who contested and garnered more votes than the other, the only person who attempted is Wa Iria and so I am the one who is supposed to be the kingpin,” he said.
“I took my papers. No one becomes a kingpin without presenting himself as a candidate, they all feared..."
Without naming anyone, Wa Iria told off leaders from the region eyeing the post.
He also stated that he will be making another attempt for the presidential seat in 2027.
"Kiti ya urais mimi nitasimama, wanichague ili niwatetee...wanichague na ile kura watanichagua, wakinipatia kura milioni nne nitakuwa kingpin wao wa milioni nne," he said.
(I will vie for the presidency, theywill choose me to defend them... if they give me four million votes I will be their kingpin of four million.)
His statement comes a few days after politician Maina Njenga proclaimed himself as the new kingpin of vote-rich region.
In an exclusive interview with the Star, the former Mungiki sect leader said he wants to be “the CEO” of Mt Kenya to solve problems that are bedevilling the region.
He said retired President Uhuru Kenyatta, who has been perceived to be the kingpin of the region, has opted to take a low profile while Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has distanced himself from the debate.
“When I say I want to be the CEO of Mt Kenya, it is because I want to solve the problems of the region,” he said.
Njenga said Gachagua has come out to say he is not interested in being the kingpin of the region because of the “heat” in Mt Kenya.
Speaking a week ago, Gachagua rebuked proponents of the kingship battle narrative, insisting that he is less interested in a position that he said is not provided for in the Constitution.
"I do not have time for that kingpin ship nonsense, I don't have that time because I am very busy," Gachagua during a church service in Kiambu.
"This kingpin position, where is the office located, how much is the salary? If there are people who want that office, I'm not part of it because I am the deputy president. My office is located in Harambee House and Karen. There is a salary and a job to do."