By James Wakahiu,
Nairobi Deputy Governor Anne Kananu has received backing from a youth lobby following her declaration that she will contest in the city's gubernatorial election next year.
Mount Kenya Youth Caucus, through its chairman Linford Mutembei and John Kiyambi, said Kananu who took over after controversial politician Mike Sonko was impeached in 2020, has proven that she can lead the cosmopolitan city.
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“The Nairobi seat is open for anyone who would want to contest, including Kananu who has declared her intentions to seek the seat. People should scrutinize her, not based on the circumstances under which she took over the position, but on her leadership and managerial skills.
Kananu, Mutembei said, has been credited for restoring decorum at City Hall, citing among other things ending shenanigans that long characterized county political leadership.
The deputy governor, whose elevation to City Hall chief has been frustrated by pending court cases, while speaking at a function on Friday last week, told her critics she does not intend to go home in 2022.
“I want to thank President Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga. I am the firstborn child of the Handshake and I won't let them down.
Hata 2022 niko kwa debe, wakidhani naingia nitoke, nimeingia nikae. Nitapambana nao (I will be vying in 2022. For those who think I am only here for a little while, I am telling them that I am here to stay. We shall face-off, Wasidhani naingia nitoke, naingia kukaa (they should not think that I am here just for a while, I am here to stay," Kananu said.
On Wednesday, March 31, while addressing the media at Maple Restaurant in Ruiru, Mutembei said women leaders should be encouraged and supported to contest for top positions, adding that what Nairobi needs is a sober leader who will agree to work with others to transform the city.
Kananu, who was the County Chief Officer for Disaster Management and Coordination in Sonko’s administration, was picked by the former governor on January 6, 2020, to replace Polycarp Igathe but her nomination was a subject of a protracted court case until last year when the petition was withdrawn.
However, a plan to make her the governor in a move that was seen as a deliberate plot by the State to avert an election that was scheduled for February has been hindered by several court cases.
