Nakuru governor Susan Kihika has fallen out with area senator Tabitha Karanja, we can now reveal.
The two who campaigned together during the 2022 general elections and were elected on UDA are now not seeing eye-to- eye.
So close were the two that many Kenyans suspected they were sisters.
Apart from attending major political activities in the region that are graced by president William Ruto and his deputy Rigathi Gachagua, the duo are avoiding each other like a plague.
Word on the ground is that Tabitha is laying the groundwork to challenge the governor in the 2027 general election and that is why she has joined her critics in raising concerns over poor service delivery.
The governor also fears that Tabitha is behind the scheme where Kalenjin leaders in Nakuru are crying foul over appointment in the executive.
The Kalenjins who are the second largest voting bloc in Nakuru after Kikuyus, are grumbling that Kihika gave all the lucrative county seat to her fellow kinsmen.
The senator recently irked the governor when she backed doctors in Nakuru in lamenting the lack of drugs, medical equipment, and a chronic shortage of lab reagents and essential medical supplies.
The doctors accused Kihika of failing to honour her promises to support healthcare professionals during the campaigns in 2022.
So bitter is the fallout that the senator celebrated when the court dealt a blow to the governor by revoking her letters terminating contracts of medical personnel in the county.
The governor terminated contracts for over 500 health workers which the senator warned could cause a major health crisis.
“On behalf of my great Nakuru county people, I wish to humbly and sincerely thank the Employment and Labour Relations Court of Nakuru for listening to the public cries of Nakuru people. The orders issued by the court will bring back sanity and restore hope in our health facilities across the county. My sincere apologies to all our medical personnel whose source of livelihood were affected by the termination of contracts. Let’s get back to work now and serve our people with dedication, passion, and professionalism,” the senator tweeted after the court’s verdict.
Tabitha also spiked the governor on the face when she hailed the Kenya National Union of Nurses for opposing Kihika’s decision to sack the medical personnel.
“I wish to extend my sincere gratitude to the Kenya National Union of Nurses together with the other relevant unions who have come and voiced their concerns over the irresponsible sacking of critical health workers in Nakuru county. The decision to dismiss our well trained and experienced health workers has led to poor services and has led to compromised services in our hospitals, health centres and dispensaries. This is really a big shame to us as leaders and I am giving sincere apologies on behalf of us leaders. I also encourage the unions to step up their efforts through the legal channels in seeking justice for the workers as well as restoration of services at our health facilities. We wish the unions well in this pursuit,” she tweeted.
“I’m also pursuing political ways at the senate that should seek to stop such detrimental actions now and in the future,” she added.
When Ruto and Gachagua were in the county to distribute a fertiliser subsidy programme, Kihika and Tabitha avoided sitting near each other.
In their tweets after the ceremony, none mentioned the other though they were both present.
Njoro MP and her husband
It was the same case when they joined Ruto and Gachagua in Njoro, Mauche ward for the send-off of David Chepkwony, husband to Njoro MP Charity Chepkwony.
When given the opportunity to address the mourners, none acknowledged the presence of the other.
It was the same case when prime cabinet secretary Musalia Mudavadi, cabinet secretaries, Eliud Owalo, Rebecca Miano and Davis Chirchir were in the county for the launch of the OlKaria Ecoclound Data centre.
The senator was also a no show when Kihika opened an ECD at Maombi Primary School in Kabazi ward where she was accompanied by Subukia MP Samuel Gachobe and MCAs led by George Tallama, Nakuru CECMs and county leaders.
