Martha Karua’s immediate family did not expect that she would reach the political level she has reached today after being named Raila Odinga’s running mate for the August 9 polls.
Speaking to the media hours after she was announced the running mate for Raila, the family termed her as unique and aggressive since her childhood.
“I feel very excited. I did not expect she would get that which she has got. It was not in my mind. As a father, I praise the Lord God, because He is the one who has made things to be as He likes. What He (God) has chosen my daughter to be… I say thank you, God,” Martha’s father Jackson Karua said.
“I’m just praying to God to guide both of them (Raila and Karua) to lead this country better than they found it so that they progress for the better,” he added.
Overwhelmed with joy, Martha’s mother Josephine Wanjiru termed her as obedient, humble and hardworking when she was growing up.
“She was polite, very active and very hardworking in her studies. She never used to follow other people. People see her as tough, but it is her stand. She does not choose evil, and that has been her principle since her childhood,” Wanjiru said.
“If God saw it good, I should also be obedient to God, thank Him and also serve Him because He has lifted from the bottom. As my child when she holds a senior position, I also feel it is a good job that God gave me.”
Wanjiru says that Martha is able to transform the country since she does not condone corruption or mudslinging.
“I know her as a person who does not like corruption or insulting other people. If she chooses to do this job, I know she will do a good job. They have come from afar with the other one (Raila Odinga). There is no corrupt person between them both. I can see God helping them and our country will go far. Even corruption will die,” she added.
According to Martha’s brother Mr Jefta Karua, Martha is a principled woman who believes in integrity and standing for what she believes in.
“I believe that being a person of integrity, being a person who believes in what she wants she is going to change the course of this country,” Jefta said.
“She has been a tough lady right from her childhood. She was a leader, and she was showing us the way and there were no two ways, it was only one way. She believes in the right ways to handle issues. I only came to understand her when she ventured into politics because her approach was different from all the other people I’ve ever handled,” he added.
Martha was born on September 22, 1957, in Kirinyaga District in the Central Province of Kenya. Brought up in the village of Kimunye, she is the second child in a family of eight, four girls and four boys.
