Politrack index: Waiguru’s Kirinyaga leads; Wajir, Nyeri, Kiambu, Mombasa fill top five
Key points
- Politrack’s 2022–2026 governors table puts Kirinyaga (Waiguru) first.
- Next: Wajir (Abdullahi), Nyeri (Kahiga), Kiambu (Wamatangi), Mombasa (Nassir).
- Metrics: citizen views on health, roads, water, farms, trade, revenue, participation, delivery, fiscal control.
- Urban and women respondents scored counties higher than rural men on several services.
When Politrack Africa posted its 2022–2026 governors scorecard, Kirinyaga under Anne Waiguru sat at rank one — ahead of Wajir, Nyeri, Kiambu and Mombasa — Capital FM reported on the Saturday release.
The firm says citizens graded devolved basics: clinics, tarmac, taps, agriculture support, trade facilitation, how revenue is collected, how open participation feels, everyday service, and money management. That is a political weapon in the last stretch of first terms before 2027, regardless of whether every county boss likes the sample.
Who likes devolution more
Town respondents outscored rural ones on water, infrastructure and overall delivery. Women outscored men on health, water and general satisfaction. Politrack reads a rural equity gap, not only a need for more HQ monuments.
Wide gaps among the 47 counties remain. A podium photo can coexist with weak wards in the same region; rivals will weaponise either the medals or the footnotes.
How to use the ranking without being used
Stack it against Controller of Budget absorption and facility data before treating any place as a miracle county. Desk: Politics.
Demand sample size and error margins by county. Governors outside the top five should answer with audited outputs. Ward forums in rural zones should test clinic and water claims against the higher urban scores so devolution is not graded only by town elites. Media houses can publish a side-by-side of Politrack ranks versus pending audit queries for the same five names — the only way a perception index meets a paper trail.
With less than a year of full first-term runway for many, service delivery will not stay a technocratic topic; it will be a campaign slogan. Voters should ask for 2022-to-2026 project lists with GPS pins, not only index screenshots.
County assemblies in the bottom half of the table can force governors to table a 90-day catch-up plan on water and clinic staffing before supplementary budgets are approved. Civic tech groups should mirror the ranks against open budget data so a top-five badge cannot hide unpaid contractors.
Based on Capital FM’s account of the Politrack governors index. Surveys measure perception, not audited accounts.
