Betty Maina bids political ‘goodbye’ to Murang’a voters

Murang’a Woman Representative Betty Maina/ HANDOUTMurang’a Woman Representative Betty Maina has announced that she will not defend her seat in the 2027 general election, leaving residents in limbo about her next political move.

Maina, a close ally of President William Ruto in the Mt Kenya region, made the announcement on Monday, describing her decision as a political “farewell” to the electorate who elected her in 2022.

She attributed her decision to the changing political realities in the region, particularly the growing influence of former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP).

The legislator said the outcome of the July 16 Ol Kalou parliamentary by-election had opened her eyes to the political direction of the Mt Kenya region, where opposition forces have increasingly challenged Ruto’s political influence.

In the by-election, DCP candidate Sammy Kamau Ngotho defeated the ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA) candidate Samuel Muchina Nyaga by a landslide, securing 35,440 votes against his opponent’s 5,450.

Maina suggested that the experience had fundamentally changed her understanding of the electorate, recalling the extensive mobilisation and resources deployed by the ruling party during the campaigns.

“Since the Ol Kalou by-election, I don’t allow myself to be misled. I usually tell people that I know how the ground is. I have never seen such deceptive people; but I will not judge them. I have never seen what I saw. We first gave them rice and beans,” she said on Monday while at a meeting

She went on to describe how campaign teams distributed various items to voters, including mattresses, blankets, cooking gas cylinders and transport money, but still failed to secure victory.

“They slept on mattresses we had given them. They covered themselves on blankets we had given them. When they woke up in the morning, they prepared tea on gas cylinders we had given them too…we gave them money for transport…We had given them even boats. There have never been such campaigns,” she said.

In an emotional moment, Maina sang Ndi Mwihitukiri (I Was Just a Passer-by), a popular song by legendary Gikuyu musician Wahome wa Maingi, seemingly underscoring her decision.

She subsequently delivered the announcement, thanking residents for giving her an opportunity to serve them over the past five years.

“Today I have come to say ‘thank you’ for the five years you have elected me as the Woman County Representative. I am very grateful. To those I have worked with, and have appreciated my work; I am grateful. To those I may have wronged, I beg your forgiveness,” she said.

Maina urged residents to carefully assess the candidates seeking to succeed her, saying her departure should not interrupt programmes targeting vulnerable groups.

She cited the issuance of cheques to women’s groups, assistance to orphans and support for children living with disabilities as some of the initiatives she hoped her successor would sustain.

“Look at all of them and elect a person who will come to continue with the work we have been doing,” she said.

Her announcement marks a significant change in her political ambitions, having previously indicated interest in challenging Governor Irungu Kang’ata for the Murang’a gubernatorial seat in 2027.

Kang’ata, who has declared his intention to defend his position, is expected to seek re-election on a DCP ticket, while Lands Cabinet Secretary Alice Wahome has also announced her gubernatorial bid on a UDA ticket.

Maina was elected Woman Representative in 2022 on a UDA ticket, making the 2027 election her first opportunity to seek a second term.

Her decision to step aside comes amid an increasingly competitive political contest in Murang’a, one of the counties at the centre of the shifting political alliances in the Mt Kenya region.