When she made history in 2022 by outmuscling political titans and veteran politicians to clinch the Meru governorship, many were waiting to see how Kawira Mwangaza would navigate the murky political waters.
Despite her win, several tides had lined up against her, which would later contribute to her downfall as she now faces a challenging moment for a career she had built with grit, prayers, and sheer hard work to win the hearts of voters.
Observers believe it will take extreme luck for her to weave her way back to the powerful seat as she struggles with a deficiency of political goodwill even if she were to lodge another successful appeal.
But it had been coming. To some observers, her goose was already cooked even before she was officially sworn in after running what they believed was a campaign that had left her exposed.
They believe her own mistakes in the early days of her stint in office, as well as the perpetual state of campaigns in Meru, which has seen several leaders salivate for her seat, long before the 2027 General elections, contributed to her downfall.
Firstly, she had contested and won as an independent candidate, an aspect that robbed her of the usual backing that party candidates always enjoy. Save for the residents and a few MCAs who had stuck with her, Mwangaza struck a lonely figure backed only by her husband and his characteristic guitar.
In the end, not even her last-ditch attempt to decamp to President William Ruto’s UDA party could save her.
She came into the office with a promise to have a people-centred administration, pledging her key goals would be to free the people from the shackles of poverty, indignity, and bad leadership.
“I fully understand the gravity and responsibility that you have put on my shoulders. I do not take it lightly but I am ready for the task. I will get it done,” she said.
Mwangaza had also hosted MPs at her official residence in the leafy Milimani suburb to forge unity to achieve her development agenda.
But that camaraderie was short-lived as, shortly afterward, rifts between her and other leaders began to emerge, first with the Ward reps who impeached her for the first time barely 122 days into office, setting off two years of tribulations for Mwangaza.
A senior politician claimed that Mwangaza failed to forge a working agreement with other leaders and was arrogant in her earlier days in office.
“As a leader elected on an independent ticket, she was expected to work extra hard to win political goodwill from others who subscribe to the doctrines of other parties. She failed to do so,” said the leader.
According to the leader, the decision by Mwangaza to incorporate close associates and family in the management of the devolved unit further dented the confidence of the political class with her leadership.
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On Friday, as the final nail appeared to be driven in her political coffin, a wave of celebrations swept through Meru, further diminishing her prospects of regaining the flame that had made her a darling to residents.
Unlike in the past, Mwangaza remained mum on whether she would stage another fight within the courts by appealing the High Court judgment. Time, too, is not on her side as political players push to have her deputy, Mutuma M’Ethingia sworn in as the fourth governor, an event expected to take place on Monday morning at Mwendantu Grounds at the edge of Meru Town.
With her political opponents, who include former Governors Kiraitu Murungi, the Devolution Empowerment Party leader, Peter Munya, the Party of National Unity (PNU) leader and UDA’s Mithika Linturi (UDA) commanding the MCA numbers in the Assembly, Mwangaza was living dangerously as a politician.
That vulnerability probably cost her seat, says Gibert Mutwiri, a political pundit.
“Munya and Linturi want to be governor, as is Senator Kathuri Murungi of UDA. Mwangaza had no chance of surviving because she has no party,” he said.
“Being without a party was always going to make her support in the Assembly hard. Especially because her political opponents control the parties with the biggest number of MCAs in that House. No MCA would go against his or her party leader. Kawira had nobody to run to for support in the assembly,” said Mr Mutwiri.
He added, “But we should give her some credit. She is a strong woman, and despite that, she managed to get 20 MCAs on her side.”
Though she joined UDA recently, she had not gained acceptance as she probably desired, say analysts.
“She arrived at UDA too late. Because Meru is on campaign mode, with Munya and Linturi going around the county to look for support. There are calls for Kiraitu to come out of political retirement, too. The future does not look bright for Mwangaza at the moment,” he added.
In the region, experienced politicians are already burning the midnight oil as they seek to capture the seat. It is a political temperature that never subsided even after the 2022 General Elections in the region.
Munya had already announced plans to recapture Meru County Governor’s seat from Mwangaza, further unsettling the county chief. Munya was Meru’s first Governor from 2013 to 2017.
The former Agriculture CS has been opening PNU offices in various parts of Meru to popularise the outfit and run against Governor Mwangaza and other candidates, including Mithika Linturi, also a former Agriculture CS.
“I will vie for Meru governor. I apologize for not running in 2022 because you had expected me to vie. I had different thoughts,” he said recently.
“Meru has got a lot of problems and that was not the wish of the people. We supported Mwangaza but she has not delivered. The people expected development and their wishes have not been fulfilled. That is what we want to correct,” Munya said.
Linturi, who was dropped from the Cabinet last year, has also declared his candidature and was among the titans whose influence affected Mwangaza’s stature.
Linturi is among the few leaders who had erected billboards with political messages regarding their political plans.
For instance, a huge billboard erected by Linturi towers the skies of Meru with the message “Restoring Meru’s lost glory together”.
John Mwangi, a resident, believes the rising political temperatures infiltrated into the county assembly and contributed to MCAs crafting a case against Mwangaza.
“She was fighting several battles, and she did not have control of the assembly. She was always on the defensive while also struggling to deliver projects that politicized, ” he says.
As she fought political battles with those keen on unseating her, another fight was developing at the County Assembly as she sought to save her seat after failing to rally MCAs to support her cause.
The disagreements spiralled into a series of impeachment efforts by MCAs, albeit with failures. Her key project proposals also hit brick walls as MCAs pushed back against her.
By the time the courts confirmed her impeachment on Friday, nearly all members of her cabinet were also facing an impeachment over alleged incompetence by MCAs who were keen to halt her progress.
It is the culmination of a sustained effort by the County Assembly to remove Mwangaza from office after four other attempts flopped.
