She is one of the longest serving MPs in Kenya today, having first joined Parliament in 2013 as a nominated senator.
In 2017, Martha Wangari was elected as Gilgil MP, becoming the first female legislator in the history of the constituency.
During the 2022 general election, she was among those who read the political signs of the day and opted to align with the then Deputy President William Ruto’s camp.
Her political gamble paid off when she was reelected for another term on a UDA party ticket. In the process, she became one of the longest serving female MPs in Kenya.
As the clock ticks towards the 2027 general election, Wangari, the University of Nairobi-trained mathematician is eyeing a fourth straight term in office.
Among the movement of the country’s political tectonic plates, the UDA MP is carefully studying the mood mood of the ground before making his next political move.
With former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s Democracy for Citizens Party quickly gaining ground in the so called Mount Kenya region counties, will the Gilgil MP decamp to DCP?
Being a smart political operator, just as she did in 2022, she waited until the final months before decamping from the ruling Jubilee Party.
Whatever happens in the months leading up to the 2027 general election remains to be seen. But for Martha Wangari, her quest for a fourth straight term in office will be her biggest political test since making a huge plunge into the murky world of politics almost two decades ago.