THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2014

Mary Wambui, Kibaki and the new battle for Othaya

Ms Mary Wambui reacts after the Nyeri Court of Appeal nullified her election as Othaya MP on February 13, 2014. Photo: JOSEPH KANYI/NATION 

In Summary

  • Whatever President Kibaki did, Ms Wambui was always quick to counter with a display intended to prove that she occupied a special place by his side.
  • Her entry into the Othaya race complicated the family situation for the outgoing president after his son Jimmy and daughter Judy came out to try halt the political ambitions of their mother's rival.
  • She has not rested on her laurels, but has spent her time as MP solidifying her base on the ground.
By Macharia Gaitho
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onOne of the most extraordinary episodes of President Mwai Kibaki's tenure was witnessed early in 2009 when the president summoned a rare press briefing at State House to declare that he had only one wife.

With First Lady Lucy by his side, the president told an awestruck gaggle of journalists that he was in 'foul mood' over incessant press reports linking him to another woman. He introduced his 'only one dear wife, Lucy' and four children also known to the public, to dispel reports that he had another wife or another family.

Without mentioning her name it was clear that he was referring to the Nyeri businesswoman Mary Wambui, then cryptically referred to as the "Narc activist" by the Kenyan media, and her daughter Winnie Mwai.

That was the second time in just a few years that the president had found it necessary to publicly disown Ms Wambui and her daughter and restate the composition of the official First Family.

The first time was in the form a written statement despatched from State House that also listed the names of his children.

But whatever President Kibaki did, Ms Wambui was always quick to counter with a display intended to prove that she occupied a special place by his side.

PRESIDENTIAL GUARD

She delighted in making public reference to President Kibaki as "my husband" or tipping off the press on her shopping expeditions invariably accompanied by a large posse of security officers drawn from the GSU's presidential guard.

Ms Wambui put on those displays knowing very well that they enraged the mercurial First Lady and provoked her into extremes, such as the intemperate public reactions that projected Mr Kibaki in bad light, or those that forced the president into those bizarre affirmations of his family.

The exact relationship between President Kibaki and Ms Wambui has always been the subject of conjecture, but notwithstanding his denials, she continued to publicly proclaim a special relationship.

Those who have followed President Kibaki's career over the years know that Ms Wambui has always been a key figure by his side in Othaya and Nyeri politics.

When she chose to run for the Othaya parliamentary seat at the 2013 elections to succeed President Kibaki who had held seat since 1974, Ms Wambui was already well-grounded in her own right in local politics.

GRASSROOTS NETWORK

She had parlayed her role as Mr Kibaki's local contact and emissary since his days as Vice President in the late 1970s to the late '80s to build a formidable grassroots network of her own.

When President Kibaki took over at State House at the end of 2002, Ms Wambui's stock went up considerably. Her new residence in Lavington became a magnet for political operatives and businessmen looking to cut deals in the new dispensation.

According to one insider who worked in the Kibaki State House, President Kibaki generally did not grant audience to wheeler-dealers, while the First Lady Lucy had absolutely no interest in using her office to advance businesses deals or acquire property.

Ms Wambui, however, had no such qualms and swiftly set up a vast network of political and business affiliations stretching all the way to Mombasa.

This accentuated rivalry with President Kibaki's two eldest children, Judy and Jimmy, who saw her as an interloper.

Her entry into the Othaya race complicated the family situation for the outgoing president after his son Jimmy and daughter Judy came out to try halt the political ambitions of their mother's rival.

They came out supporting another candidate for the TNA nomination, Peter King'ara, and eventually even the outgoing president, possibly under family pressure, was forced to hit the campaign trail against Ms Wambui.

TO NO AVAIL

There were also indications at the time that the Kibakis had, to no avail, tried to get TNA leader, eventual President Uhuru Kenyatta, to deny Ms Wambui the party nomination.

Despite all the pressure and the spectre of a continuing family soap opera, Ms Wambui triumphed and took her place as the former President's successor in Othaya constituency.

Losing the seat after the original election petition verdict was overturned by the Court of Appeal will obviously be a major setback.

If she is not barred from contesting the by-election, prospects are high that Ms Wambui will still start off the clear front-runner.

She has not rested on her laurels, but has spent her time as MP solidifying her base on the ground.

It is also unlikely that the retired president will want to soil his hands in the by-election campaigns.