Caroline Wanjiru Karugu has been nominated by Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga to fill the position of deputy governor which has been vacant since November 2017.
This is after the void left following the demise of the county boss Wahome Gakuru along Thika-Murang'a road.
Unknown to many, Karugu works at the Geothermal Development Company as an Independent Non-Executive Director, a position she was appointed to by President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2015 alongside other 87 parastatals appointees.
[caption caption="Caroline Wanjiru Karugu"]
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Secondly, the likely soon-to-be, second-in-command in Nyeri worked as a Senior Investor Relations Manager at Britam where she joined in October 2013.
At some point in her career, she also worked at Nairobi Securities Exchange as an Investor Relations and Communications Manager.
Besides, she is a Ph.D. holder with a Doctor of Business Administration Degree (Finance option) from USIU-A in collaboration with the Columbia Business School in New York.
The nominee for the gubernatorial post is aged 40 and celebrates her birthday on November 20.
Lastly, Karugu also currently serves as the CEO of Jabali Microserve which provides financial services on retail, manufacturing, service and agribusiness sectors of the economy.
She has over the years been passionate about youth empowerment and has participated in international finance including the Savings and Credit Co-operative Association (SACCA) Congress.
In 2010, she was among the top 5 individuals who won the prestigious World Young Credit Union Professionals (WYCUP) award sponsored by the World Council of Credit Unions (WOCCU), United States.
[caption caption="Mutahi Kahiga"]
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Karugu is now awaiting vetting and approval by the county assembly which is likely to see her become first female Deputy governor of Nyeri and the county’s third after Samuel Wamathai and Mutahi Kahiga.
She is set to be the first beneficiary of a Supreme Court ruling that declared that the Constitution does not envisage a vacancy upon death, impeachment, resignation or Deputy Governor’s assumption into the Governor’s office.
The ruling also paved way for Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko to appoint his deputy following the resignation of Polycarp Igathe.
