Being a first timer gunning for the Bahati Constituency parliamentary seat, home to political gurus, the youthful Engineer Crispus Anthony Wathimba is not deterred and he believes he is up to the challenge.
For those familiar with him, these definitions befits him; passionate, pro-active, progressive and a professional who loves everyone equally.
His charming smile depicts the courage, reminiscence of a young man in the likes of David, well oiled, and armed with only a single stone ready to battle Goliath, one Onesmus Kimani Ngunjiri.
The youthful aspirant is not ready to waste the single stone either and believes it is his chance to pounce, with Mr Ngunjiri’s political career continue to dwindle, especially after opposing President Uhuru’s appointment of Speaker Susan Kihika to lead Jubilee campaign team in Central Rift.
Ngunjiri prides himself in having saved the modern day Kihika from sinking in our county’s tumultuous political doldrums.
Conspicuously, the Bahati MP is an experienced political son borne of the retired President Moi’s regime and his Nyayo style of politics.
“In this time and age, society that set out to attain transformative economic objectives must have the courage and insight to ‘think big’ in order to realize our Vision. Am ready to wrestle Ngunjiri,” says Wathimba.
Growing up in Bahati
Mr Wathimba, 36, was born in Bahati constituency, Nakuru County and is the last born to retired teachers, the Late Elias Maina Njuguna formerly of Jamhuri primary school and Mrs Jane Maina of Kagoto Primary School.
Mrs Maina is household name among the residents of Heshima, Kagoto, Kirima and Engashura in Kiamaina Ward, most of whom she taught between 1979 and 2001 before she retired. She is now a community leader involved in philanthropic activities.
Mr Wathimba seems to have taken the leadership mantle from his parents as the late Elias Maina and Jane Maina were the founders of St John ACK Church- Kagoto together with other members of St Luke ACK Church- Rurii. It is in this church founded by his parents that Wathimba was raised with strong Christian values that today continue to define him as a person.
His parents served the church in key leadership position, as Mr Maina was the Church lay leader and Chairman while his mother was the Mother Union Chairlady for over 20yrs. According to him, Leadership truly runs in the family’s blood.
Wathimba: Getting into politics and past experience
Coming into politics with over 10 years wealth of experience in various management roles, the young vibrant Wathimba believes he is the man to inject fresh blood and write a new chapter in the Bahati and Nakuru County politics that has for over 20 years been associated with political intrigues and violence which continue to deny the region much needed economic development and transformation as well as quality service delivery.
Mr Wathimba, a trained Civil Engineer and Certified Project Management practitioner started to rise when he served as a project manager for Safaricom and Huawei Telecommunication Network Rollout projects in Kenya, DR Congo, and South Sudan for two years immediately after completing his engineering degree course from JKUAT in the year 2005.
His career continued to blossom when he was appointed as the founding Country Manager for Kenyan owned Multinational Construction firm in Uganda between 2007 and 2012 , a company he was responsible for its incorporation in Uganda and growth .
The Civil engineer also served as the East Africa Regional Director for the same company overseeing projects in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and South Sudan.
Wathimba is also the Founder and Director of an Engineering and Construction Firm with presence in Kenya and Uganda since 2013, as well as the Co-Founder and Director of an Insurance Brokerage Firm in Uganda, the position he has held to date.
“I believe with my strong academic and professional background in the field of engineering and vast experience in project management and business leadership, I have what it takes to deliver on the transformative agenda that Bahati needs urgently” he said.
However, the young visionary leader admits politics is not for joyriders, especially when facing experienced leaders like Bahati MP Onesmus Ngunjiri who has been in the game for a long time.
With hammer and tongs at each other between Kihika and Ngunjiri in a battle for supremacy in Bahati, a constituency which holds the reputation of laying the county’s hottest political bed where almost everything goes during polls and off political seasons, Wathimba is ready to pull the trigger.
His motivation is the desire to transform the lives of people and be an agent of change, and he is ready to give his competitors a run for their money. The Wathimba Foundation an organisation he founded motto is “empower communities, beat poverty , transform lives” has so far engaged in several initiatives whose main agenda is to “BEAT” poverty by investing in; Business & Enterprise, Education, Agriculture and Talent (BEAT).
If elected, his key agenda will be addressing the issues of; access to safe and clean drinking water, improving the quality of education with greater focus on Academic Excellence, Skills acquisition and Talent Development, youth mentorship in schools as well as providing skills to unemployed youth that are relevant to the job market. Lastly but not least agriculture and agri-business which remain underdeveloped despite its huge potential to create jobs for youth and spur economic growth in the constituency.
Wathimba’s Focus on Special Groups
On youth, he plans to set up a five year youth outreach and Empowerment programme whose goals and objective is to nurture a responsible, focused and well behaved youthful community that can play an effective and substantive role in nation building and a defender of our national values: peace, love and unity.
Wathimba also has a soft heart for the elderly and persons with disabilities where he intends to invest a great deal of resources in attending to the unique and special needs of these people that are tailored to a specific group of people and individuals depending on their challenges.
“I will also agitate for more funding of women empowerment and financial support programme by the national and county governments to support women in trade, business, employment, Agri-Business, cottage Industries and Social Enterprises.”
He feels his parliamentary candidature is an eye opener for majority of youth who wish to venture into politics at a young age.
Wathimba’s Online Presence
Mr. Wathimba being a digital young man has a strong online presence. He is available on Facebook, Twitter as and also on the professionals’ social media platform, LinkedIn. To learn more about him, you can visit his website wathimba.co.ke