President William Ruto on Sunday, October 30, attended a Sunday service at Karigu-Ini Primary School in Kandara Constituency, Murang'a County highlighting his long-standing ties with the region.
Kandara Constituency is the only constituency that got two Cabinet Secretaries, in the recently assembled inner circle.
The two picked by the President to his cabinet include former Kandara Member of Parliament Alice Wahome appointed to head the Water and Sanitation docket and Prof Njuguna Ndung’u for the National Treasury.
Wahome and Ndung'u are neighbours in Muruka and Ruchu wards respectively within Kandara Consituency.
However, Ruto's relationship with Kandara Constituency and the greater Murang'a County goes beyond the two appointments to the pre-election period.
In the run up to the August 9 elections, Alice Wahome was a vocal Ruto campaigner in the Mount Kenya region where she promised to rally every voter to cast their vote in favor of the then Deputy President.
On March 6, 2020 the then Gatundu South lawmaker, Moses Kuria now Trade and Industry CS had sensationally claimed that there were plans to assassinate Dr Ruto who then President Uhuru Kenyatta's deputy.
Speaking ahead of the Ruto service in Kandara, Wahome said “we will be welcoming our president to his stronghold and all both elected and non-elected leaders will show up to welcome him.”
Murang'a County is one of the Mount Kenya counties that overwhelmingly voted for William Ruto in the August 9 election. Over 340,000 voters in the county cast their vote in favor of Ruto representing 81% of all the votes cast in the county.
Ruto has also had close ties with the current Murang'a County governor Irungu Kang'ata since his days as Murang'a county Senator and the Senate Majority Chief Whip in the 12th Parliament.
Kang'ata was removed from the Senate Majority Whip's position after his letter to the then President Uhuru Kenyatta to de-whip Tangatanga MPs into supporting BBI was leaked to the public in January 2021.
Another close Ruto close ally that comes from the vast Murang'a County is Ndindi Nyoro. The current Kiharu Member of Parliament is believed to be one of the closest allies of President Ruto within the Mount Kenya region.
