Mugo Njeru
Saturday, May 19, 2007
It is the leading producer of the world famous Miraa (Khat) crop, a major foreign exchange earner.
Miraa worth millions of shillings is ferried daily to Nairobi's Wilson airport for export.
But there is little to show for this wealth. Numerous grass-thatched mud-walled houses dot the entire landscape.
The road network crucial in ferrying miraa among other farm produce to the market is one of the poorest in the larger Meru region.
The Maua-Athiru-Kilili road, veritable lifeline, is impassable in the rainy season.
Four-wheel drive vehicles, especially old Land Rovers are precious here because they serve as matatus and ferry Miraa to Maua, the collection point.
In the race is veteran politician Jackson Kalweo, who represented the area for over two decades until he was ousted by Mr Muriungi.
A former minister in the Moi government, he had defended the seat in 2002 in Kanu whose nominations had been controversial.
Mr Kalweo is known to be a defender of miraa farmers. He has yet to decide which party he will vie on, but acknowledges that he will be on the side with President Kibaki.
It is widely known that the Meru region is wholly behind Mr Kibaki while many recall that Mr Kalweo supported the Orange Democratic Movement during the 2005 referendum.
Also in the race are two step-brothers, Mr Cyprian Kubai Kiringo and Mr Stanley Kayongi Kiringo.
Mr Kubai will seek the Narc-K ticket while his half-brother is in ODM-Kenya, which hardly has any roots in the region.
Mr Kubai, the wealthier of the two, can wage and effective campaign.
But the man widely expected to give Mr Muriungi a run for his money is the managing director of Archchoice Insurance Brokers in Nairobi, Mr Mithika Linturi.
He hopes to vie on a Narc-K ticket. Mr Linturi is not a newcomer, having controversially lost the Kanu ticket in 2002 to Mr Kalweo, even after it had been announced he was the winner.
He has conducted harambees for schools and churches and initiated in Igembe South division the Mithika Trophy competed for annually by 44 primary schools.
Others in the race include Councillor Samuel Kaumbuthu, lawyer Mr Robert Mugambi Mbaabu and businesswoman Ms Mary Munoru.
Miraa politics will be high on the agenda with farmers grumbling that they are now suffering after one of their largest markets, Somalia, was closed last year Kenyan flights to the war-torn country suspended.
Mr Muriungi's opponents accuse him of not canvassing enough to get the Government to lift the flights ban.
Another thorny issue is land adjudication. Apart from Maua town, people in Igembe do not hold title deeds.
Mr Muriungi, described as a "down to earth and too honest" politician, is fighting for survival in a constituency whose kingmaker is Cabinet minister Kiraitu Murungi, with whom he has reportedly fallen out.
Source: Daily Nation, May 19. 2007