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Gubernatorial Aspirant Richard Ngatia has gotten the nod from Mount Kenya elders based in Nairobi to contest for the County’s top job.
The grassroots leaders backed the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI) president Richard Ngatia in his race to City Hall pledging to stand by him.
The elders drawn from Nairobi’s ten sub counties met and unanimously endorsed their son Ngatia to go for the seat.
The endorsement came as a big blow to other aspirants from the central region eyeing the seat.
They include current Nairobi Governor Ann Kananu, insurance executive Grace Kagure and the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) gubernatorial candidate a former Housing assistant minister Bishop Margaret Wanjiru.
“As the elders of Mount Kenya region hereby endorse Ngatia as our preferred candidate from Mount Kenya and therefore give him our blessings to run for Nairobi’s governorship. Our wishes and prayers are with the chamber of commerce boss,” they declared.
The elders said that they believed in Ngatia given his maturity and leadership experience in being their points man in the city and in making Nairobi restore its past lost glory.
They said their endorsement does not mean that Ngatia will be their tribal kingpin but will be the leader of all Nairobians irrespective of tribe, race, age, gender, religion or political affiliation.
Ngatia thanked the ‘Wazee’ in believing in him and promised them that he will not disappoint them in leading Nairobi.
The KNCCI boss said he was firmly behind the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) leader and opposition chief Raila Odinga for the presidency and urged the Mount Kenya region to pay back the former Prime Minister’s debt by electing him.
“Raila put aside his ambitions to support Mwai Kibaki who is one of our own for the presidency in 2002 and now our turn to return favour to Raila,” said Ngatia.