The political future for Kirinyaga Governor Anne Mumbi Waiguru is shining bright; many Kenyans are now looking at her as the next political supremo in Central Kenya.
She served in President Uhuru Kenyatta’s first half term as the Devolution CS and later vied for Kirinyaga governorship successfully.
She vied against veteran politician; Narc Kenya’s Martha Karua and trounced her. Karua has however, challenged Waiguru’s victory and the case is set to be heard at the Court of Appeal in Nyeri.
Waiguru’s political clout has been on an uphill trend since them.
And on Friday, she once again took a step higher on the political ladder after being elected as the vice chair for the Council of Governors.
Her new position at the CoG takes her back to a powerful position, just like the one she enjoyed while serving as Devolution CS though she unceremoniously left office at the height of Sh1.8 billion NYS theft.
Pundits now say she has joined the race of those angling to be running mates for Deputy President William Ruto in 2022.
Political heavyweights from Mt Kenya who are being fronted for the job are Devolution CS Mwangi Kiunjuri and former Gatanga MP Peter Kenneth.
However, USIU don Macharia Munene noted that despite her new role in the county chiefs council, it does not give her an edge to deputize Ruto in 2022.
He said she has her eyes fixed on retaining her governorship race in 2022.
“The fact that she has been elevated as the council’s vice chair is good for her, but that does not give her an edge over other potential candidates,” he told the Star.
He added: “It would just give her prominence — that’s all. It would be a mistake to assume that just because somebody is chairman or deputy then he or she has an edge. Munya was chairman, but he lost.
She [Waiguru] is a good politician, but that doesn’t mean she will take over from Uhuru. It just shows she is very ambitious and very calculative and she is playing to ensure she gets reelected as governor in 2022.”
Again, putting into consideration that the DP once attacked Waiguru over the NYS heist; it is almost impossible to picture her as the running mate.
Ruto told Waiguru to “stop cat walking” and own up to the mess. This was in response to Waiguru’s assertions that the DP’s office dragged her name into the scandal with a motive to soil her name.