Kiambu Governor William Kabogo’s loss to Ferdinand Waititu in Jubilee Party primaries has remained a puzzle to many people in and out of Kiambu County.
Questions abound on where the rain started beating Kabogo to the point he lost to his political nemesis, Waititu, popularly referred to as Babayao.
Waititu floored the billionaire 353,604 votes to 69,916. More shocking is that Waititu managed to beat Kabogo in his own home polling centre in Ruiru.
But where did the rain start beating Kabogo?
Political analyst Prof Herman Manyora says that Kabogo’s downfall hit him the moment he purported to speak for the Kikuyu community in what was perceived as a move to block Deputy President William Ruto’s 2022 Presidential bid.
Kabogo said that the Kikuyu community will not render automatic support for Ruto’s bid; he must seek for it. His statements drew widespread criticism, especially from Mt Kenya leaders and their Rift Valley counterparts.
This, the analyst said, could have been the start of the plot to kick him out of power as a way to cut his claws.
“This issue of Kikuyu’s not supporting Ruto in 2022 should not be taken for granted. Kabogo is not just a push-over; he is the kind of man you might want to get away because he can galvanize Central Kenya people and that can mess you in 2022,” said Manyora on Citizen TV.
He added: “If there is a reason why DP Ruto might want to take Kabogo out, It is to do with 2022.”
But Kabogo insists that those who rigged him out are not the DP or President Uhuru Kenyatta; it was top Jubilee Party officials.
Secondly, Kabogo ruffled feather with Kiambu electorate after he was alleged to have made statements that are an insult to womanhood during his recent campaigns as well as in 2014 when he publicly said that a single woman should not be elected as she does not possess leadership qualities.
As soon as provisional results started trickling in, the majority of social media users from Kiambu County were euphorically expressing joy in having Waititu trounce Kabogo.
They accused him of myriad shortcomings including arrogance, lack of development and high charges leveled on the business community in payment of licenses and other charges.