The warm hug President Uhuru Kenyatta gave Narc-Kenya leader Martha Karua during his visit to Kirinyaga attracted the attention of many Kenyans. What interested the public the more was when Ms Karua publicly defied Kenyatta’s plea urging her to join the Jubilee Party.
During the political rally, Ms Karua flashed the Narc-Kenya symbol in the air when President Kenyatta and his Deputy William Ruto tried to lure her in front of her people.
Days after the drama ensued, the aspiring Kirinyaga Governor has now divulged that Mr Kenyatta secretly spoke to her in Kikuyu requesting for a meeting.
“My sister, nonginya undware Murang’a (please, my sister, you must take me to Murang’a),” Karua told the Standard.
The Narc-Kenya leader confirmed to have met the President in Kangema following the request adding that their differences were just political and not personal.
On the much talked about embrace, Ms Karua noted that it was unexpected as the other leaders were greeted by a handshake.
“One, President Uhuru has a pleasant and an outgoing public persona with warmth and genuine excitement. That is him, and it is not unusual. I had not expected the moment would turn out the way it did. I was standing in line with everyone else to receive him, but when he arrived, everyone surged forward to crowd on him. But I remained standing in my position. He was still shaking hands when he spotted me and reached out towards me,” Karua said.
The former minister defended her defiance of Kenyatta and Ruto’s request to join Jubilee stating: “I had to do it. I had to stand up against that pressure. It was important for Narc-Kenya members and aspiring candidates.”
“If I were to succumb to that pressure, how do I later convince members and candidates to continue buying party membership?” she posed.
-kenyans.co.ke
