UDA used and dumped me: Ruto’s ‘Mama Mboga’ Pauline Waithara now says

Pauline Waithira, 70, popularly recognized by her nickname ‘Mama Mboga’, burst into the limelight on June 4 final yr throughout the spirited presidential marketing campaign that pitted William Ruto (then Deputy President and Presidential candidate) and his long-time arch-rival Raila Odinga as the principle contenders for the presidency.

On June 4, 2022, she acted as a proxy for Dr Ruto after she was fronted by the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) to accompany their presidential candidate to the Bomas of Kenya as he submitted his credentials to the IEBC for clearance to contest and ultimately gained. 

Her earlier second of fame was on May 23 when UDA took its city corridor bottom-up mannequin strategy to Kiambu County at Limuru’s Jumuia Conference Centre.

Ms Waithira was used as a poster lady as an example how the bottom-up mannequin was entrenched to elevate bizarre folks from oblivion to self-reliance, due to frenetic and market-speaking campaigns that gained the hearts of many on the time.

Ms Waithira was one of many visitor audio system at an occasion attended by Dr Ruto and his working mate Rigathi Gachagua, who’s now the Deputy President. They have been accompanied by a big UDA delegation.

Ms Waithira’s oratory expertise and humour gained the hearts of many individuals that day and inside a short while she made many false associates and now believes that individuals she thought have been associates weren’t however have been utilizing her poor state of affairs to lure extra susceptible voters to the polls.

At the Jumuia Conference Centre, she was a poor village celeb and journalists weren’t allowed to interview her. She sat near energy and mingled with who’s who. She had a tiny outdated telephone and for minutes you possibly can see her asking dignitaries sitting on the dais for his or her numbers and later saving them.

Eventually, she gave Dr Ruto goodies in a conventional ‘kiondo’.

Now, Ms Waithira is a bitter lady as a result of even after being used to advertising UDA and going all the best way to victory, she is a poor lady and the trimmings of energy she loved throughout the marketing campaign have change into elusive and nobody is choosing her calls, as she informed the Nation on Thursday final week.

“I don’t know what you will write after this interview but don’t forget to mention that I am very angry with politicians who used me for political gains during campaigns and have now abandoned me,” she says in jest.

She provides: “I was used to illustrate how poor people will benefit from the Ruto government through bottom up but even after they won the presidential election, I was not even invited to Kasarani Stadium during the inauguration of President Ruto and his deputy. I spent the whole day crying at home, people were laughing at me.”

Ms Waithera says she has nothing to cover, including that UDA used her to deceive her fellow poor folks.

“I’ve come to understand this tactic was to get the poor folks to vote for Ruto en masse within the hope that issues would get higher,” Ms Waithira, who sells avocados at Kang’angi market in Kiambu County mentioned in a bitter and chagrined tone.

Ms Waithira was really useful by now Kiambu Senator Karung’o Wathangwa as Mr Ruto’s presidential nomination agent, who she claims by no means picks her calls regardless of performing as his agent when Karungo submitted his clearance papers to the IEBC on the Kiambu Institute of Science and Technology.

The record of those that don’t decide her calls is lengthy, together with Trade Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria, who had promised her a pick-up truck if UDA gained, and Kiambu MP Machua Waithaka, who she claims solely gave her a Sh4,000 scholarship for her three grandchildren.

“This is only a small fraction of the individuals who do not decide my calls and once they do most of them promise to name me again however they do not. I went to Kiambu Governor Kimani Wamatangi searching for assist after my son Alex Mbugua was admitted to Kiambu Level 5 Hospital and the medical invoice was Sh70,000. He stored me on the county headquarters reception for 5 hours and later assigned me to his secretary and that was the final I heard from him and I vowed by no means to name him once more,” Ms Waithira recollects.

Frustrated, Ms Waithira mentioned that she contacted Githunguri Member of Parliament Gathoni Wa Muchomba and informed her about her son’s medical invoice, who in flip contacted Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, who provided her Sh100,000, which she used to pay her son’s medical invoice.

 “Gachagua despatched Wa Muchomba Sh100,000 after I shared my issues together with her and I used to be left with Sh30,000 which I used to settle different money owed I had collected via borrowing. I used to be left with nothing,” Ms Waithira laments.

Ms Waithira has been promoting groceries at Kang’ang’i grocery store for the previous thirty years.

Born in Githunguri, Kiambu, she has a son and three grandchildren, all of whom stay in a double room and pay a month-to-month hire of Sh6,000.

She laments that life may be very troublesome and she finds it onerous to feed herself, her sick son and three grandchildren, claiming that even consuming is a problem.

“I can not plan what to eat within the night as a result of I’ve nothing. After this interview I’ll take these avocados from this market to the close by streets the place many individuals go by, perhaps somebody will purchase and I’ll have one thing to eat for the night,” she mentioned optimistically.

“Life has change into very troublesome and we’re pleading with President Ruto to look into the price of residing. On a superb day I make Sh300 now think about that one kilogram of sugar is Sh200, one kilogram of maize flour is Sh110 which I take advantage of to feed a household of 5 together with myself. Since this morning I have never eaten or offered something. Look at these avocados they’re nonetheless intact now think about that I’ve to search for college charges for my three grandchildren as a result of their father continues to be sick,” she observes.

Ms Waithira speaks fastidiously, extra afraid to talk brazenly about how the UDA management has forgotten her, hoping that any future good plans they could have for her will likely be placed on maintain once they be taught of her complaints.

But ultimately, she opened up about what was on her thoughts.

In the 2 and a half hours Nation sat down with Ms Waithira, she didn’t promote something however what was clear is that her nickname ‘Mama Mboga’ is understood to most individuals out there due to the marketing campaign interval that gave her broke celeb standing.

She says her want is to get somebody to purchase her a chunk of land, construct her a home and probably a considerable quantity of capital to help her enterprise, as a result of “she is a hardworking Kenyan who has been forgotten by the political system that she worked so hard to bring into power”.

She says she has separated from her former husband and his brothers have refused to provide her the land.

Ms Waithira warns Ruto in opposition to pushing Kenyans to undertake the controversial housing levy underneath the Finance Bill 2023, saying it’s meant for the wealthy and is supposed to learn just a few folks.

”How are you able to contribute to a housing levy if you find yourself already broke and homeless, if I’m scuffling with hire and meals how will I handle to contribute, Kenyans are already overtaxed why ought to the federal government tax them extra, they need to even contemplate growing these homes and promoting them again to individuals who can afford it however do not pressure folks to purchase,” she warns.

Ms Waithira additionally bemoans the appointments made by President Ruto’s authorities, noting that bizarre folks like her haven’t been appointed as envisaged within the bottom-up mannequin.

“I’ve not even had somebody of my standing appointed to any profitable seat but we have been informed this authorities could be for us, the poor,” she mentioned.

Ms Waithira believes that even Bodaboda rider Calvin Ochieng, who backed Dr Ruto and Mr Gachagua, is languishing in poverty.