Martha Karua vows to remain in Azimio with or without deputy position

Narc Kenya party leader Martha Karua has pledged to remain in the Azimio One Kenya coalition party even if she is not named Raila Odinga's running mate.

Karua, who appeared before the Noah Wekesa-led selection panel on Monday, got a boost with endorsements from the Kikuyu council of elders and the Kiama Kia Ma cultural association.

“Mimi najua ni mtenda kazi, mliona ata nyinyi na mna uhakika, mabarabara ikabadilika na bado inaendelea kubadilika kwa zile plans yeye mwenyewe alivyopanga,” said Karua.

Former UNCAT Secretary General Mukhisa Kituyi reiterated Karua’s sentiments saying: “Tulikubaliana if it is not me I will support Martha, na yeye akasema if it is not her she will support Kituyi. Wakati tuliona kwamba the dynamics were changing, tukasema can we find a common candidate who comes closest to what we stand for.”

At the townhall meeting in Nyeri on Tuesday, despite speaker after speaker saying she should be named Odinga's running mate, Karua said she would still back the Azimio leader even if she was not on his ticket.

“Mimi kuenda Azimio sio kubahatisha, nilienda sababu naelewa kiongozi wa Azimio, naelewa ni mtenda kazi, naelewa roho yake inalilia Mkenya na haki za Mkenya,” she said.

Kilometres away in Kiambu County, Kikuyu council of elders together with Kiama Cultural Association threw their weight behind Karua for the Azimio running mate position.

The elders, who performed Kikuyu cultural rites to pray for a peaceful election, said the deputy presidency requires a mature person with a good public track record which, according to them, Karua has portrayed over the years.

James Nene, the Secretary General of the Kikuyu Council of Elders, said: “The position of the country's number 2 is a serious appointment, which given our recent experience requires a mature person with a public track record of good value principles, consistently focused, unselfish and citizen centered. That is a person of integrity. We find these qualities in the person of Martha Karua.”

According to the elders, Karua has a track record of being a nationalist whose stand against corruption is well known.