Former Gichugu MP Martha Karua is among the most experienced and vocal female politicians in the Mt Kenya region and the country at large.
Karua has a wealth of experience in politics and has been taunted as among the top politicians who will shape Mt Kenya’s 2022 succession politics.
Born in 1957, Karua is a trained lawyer and an advocate of the High Court.
Here are the powerful positions she once held in government.
1. Magistrate
Karua worked as a Magistrate between 1981 and 1987 serving in various courts including Makadara, Nakuru and Kibera.
In 1987, Karua resigned as magistrate ad started her own law firm Martha Karua & Co. Advocates.
2. Gichugu MP
Karua joined active politics in 1991 and won the Gichugu parliamentary seat in the 1992 general election on a Ford Asili Party.
3. Minister in the Ministry of Water Resources Management and Development
In 2003, shortly after the famous 2002 election that ended retired President Daniel Arap Moi’s 24-year rule, Karua was named as the Minister for Water Resources Management and Development by former President Mwai Kibaki.
She served in the position until 2005.
4. Minister in the Ministry of National Cohesion and Constitutional Affairs
In 2008 after the disputed 2007 presidential election that led to post-poll chaos, Karua was appointed as the Minister for National Cohesion and Constitutional Affairs in the coalition government under former President Mwai Kibaki and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga.
Karua, however, resigned as Minister in April 2009, citing frustrations.
In the 2013 general election, she unsuccessfully contested for the presidential seat.
In the 2017 general election, Karua lost her bid for the Kirinyaga governor seat, which was won by Anne Waiguru.
The veteran former MP says that she has not given up on politics and will be on the ballot in 2022.
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