On Tuesday, March 29, a receipt indicating that the Kirinyaga Woman Representative, Purity Wangui Ngirici, paid a Ksh250,000 nomination fee to Jubilee Party went viral on social media.
The post with the receipt, which was shared widely, claimed that Ngirici had settled on the party as her political vehicle for the August polls. However, the receipt has been flagged as fake.
Further, the receipt had a replica of the Jubilee Party stamp dated March 16, 2022. It also carried a signature allegedly belonging to Ngirici that was appended on the same day.
An insider within Ngirici's administration, however, told Kenyans.co.ke that the Legislator would still contest as an independent candidate.
The source dismissed the social media reports, noting that plans to run independently had not changed.
With the political season at its fever pitch, propaganda has become a norm. Ngirici ditched the United Democratic Movement (UDA), a party associated with Deputy President William Ruto, last year following protracted internal wrangles.
In January 2022, she joined President Uhuru Kenyatta and the Jubilee brigade at the Kiganjo Police Training College for an official function.
A month later, she pledged to continue working with the President and telling off her competitors and critics, further asking them to brace for a tougher battle in the August polls.
Ngirici has been a fierce critic of the incumbent Kirinyaga Governor, Anne Mumbi Waiguru, whom she has faulted for not delivering on her promises and allegedly embezzling funds.
The political relationship between the two contestants grew from bad to worse after Waiguru joined UDA. The move tilted the balances in DP Ruto's camp with reports indicating that the sitting governor was the preferred candidate to fly the party's flag. This forced Ngirici to exit the party, citing discrimination and mistreatment.
Recently, Ngirici declined calls by Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria who asked her to shelve her bid, on grounds that the people of Kirinyaga were going to vote in for UDA candidates.
