Key skills Gathoni brings to Tangatanga school

 

Kiambu Woman Rep Gathoni Wamuchomba is back to class, going by her Facebook post on Friday night.

By all indications, she is being taught by seasoned Tangatanga lieutenants on how to go full Tangatanga. Who knows, maybe there is a course along the lines of Bachelor of Arts in Political Wandering and she is in the latest intake.

“I’m in class tutored by Hon Ndindi Nyoro on money matters, Osoro on karate, Aisha Jumwa on mistari (oratory skills), Hon Chebaibai on dancing and Kimani Ngunjiri on msomo (giving dressing-downs),” she posted.

“Pray that I learn fast.”

In that post she also made reference to a phrase she has lately been using in her posts – “nyuma ya tent”, which typically means a forum to educate those who are behind the news.

The phrase was also in a statement she issued on May 19 conceding the defeat of Jubilee Party in the Juja by-election, where George Koimburi, who was backed by Tangatanga politicians, defeated Susan Njeri who had the support of Kieleweke, the faction of Jubilee Party that is loyal to President Uhuru Kenyatta.

“Now the numbers are out. As one of the Jubilee pillars, I accept defeat as I take leave to reflect on the way forward. Itabidi nirudi nyuma ya hema,” she wrote.

'The Reconciler'

Before joining politics, Ms Wamuchomba was a media personality who became a household name among Kikuyu speakers through a show called Mwigwithania (Reconciler) where, among other things, she helped mend broken marriages.

One might assume that in her stay behind the tent, Ms Wamuchomba’s mwigwithania-ing skills were put to test, now that the Jubilee marriage that was ever so strong in President Kenyatta’s first term is falling apart. 

With her defection from the president’s side to the one loyal to Deputy President William Ruto, we can only guess the revelations she got behind the tent and what her mwigwithania instincts told her.

In the Tangatanga class, Ms Wamuchomba will be a formidable classmate – probably a snitch on some days, a defender of menfolk on others and a cheering squad leader on others.

She showed her snitching abilities not too long ago when she came out to claim that she heard some female MPs talk about bribes inside a toilet at the National Assembly.

“They were saying that, ‘I have been given mine, and for another member,’” she told a Parliamentary committee in September 2018. “When they realised there was somebody because my phone rang and I answered it… they never came out of that toilet until the bell rang to go to the chambers.”

Cheerleading abilities

Hopefully, her classmates in the Tangatanga school will just be attending to the normal calls of nature and not calls of money.

She has showed her ability to defend the menfolk though her repeated defence of polygamy, going as far as saying it should be part of the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI). Her belief is that if a man has the ability, he should marry more than one wife. She is likely to be a favourite among the menfolk in her class.

Ms Wamuchomba has illustrated her cheerleading abilities on many instances, and the Tangatanga school will definitely be counting on her in competitions, like the Kiambaa by-election on July 15.

When she was in the Kieleweke side, she lashed out at many people as she vouched for President Kenyatta.

For instance, in June 2019, she thundered: “If anyone is tired of Jubilee and doesn’t want to obey what is said by the boss, President Uhuru Kenyatta, they should bolt out.”

And MPs also remember her fervent cheerleading in support of lawmakers’ pay raise in her early days in Parliament, before a petition to recall her forced her to apologise.

Ms Wamuchomba is also known for founding Utugi TV, the channel that focuses on agriculture. Probably she will use that experience to lobby for a position as the greener pastures prefect at the Tangatanga school.   BY DAILY NATION