A statement by Gatundu North MP Anne Wanjiku Kibe asking Kenyans to pray for her has left netizens questioning if she has been kicked out of the ruling Jubilee Party or whether she will still defend her position.
Kibe has, on her Facebook account, expressed her displeasure over a “treatment” she was allegedly accorded by the party despite being an ardent supporter.
In the post that has since elicited a heated debate on social media and Gatundu North WhatsApp forums, Kibe insinuated that her party had offended her despite openly, honestly and consistently supporting its agenda.
“I feel so offended. I’ve openly, honestly and consistently supported my party but I can’t believe some things. Please pray for me,” she wrote.
In a joint effort, both her followers and opponents urged the ruling party to consider her for the position with some saying they wanted her defeated while in the ruling party.
Kibe is facing a tough assignment ahead as she will be battling it out with heavyweight aspirants in the August 9 polls.
Among her challengers are former MPs Francis Kigo Njenga and Clement Kung’u Waibara who will be seeking to recapture the seat on UDA and Independent tickets respectively.
Others are youthful engineer Mathew Mukuha Mwangi (an independent candidate), professor Ndung’u Ikenye (Tujibebe Wakenya Party), and Paul Mugo (ANC) among others.
In 2017, Gatundu North constituents made history by electing their first female MP who edged over five male contestants in a vote, which saw the men – prior to the parliamentary poll – gang up against her in a series of high-octane campaigns.
Kibe who is a former journalist at Kameme FM garnered 39, 447 votes to emerge top against the backdrop of a gender recourse that was launched by her competitors.
Her closest competitor, Waibara only managed 9, 314 votes while the then incumbent MP Kigo came third with 8,124 votes.