Businesswoman Agnes Kagure /HANDOUT

Businesswoman Agnes Kagure has shifted her political focus from Nairobi to her home county of Nyeri, where she is positioning herself to contest the gubernatorial seat in the 2027 general election.

Kagure, the leader of the Kenya Patriots Party (KPP), appears to have abandoned her earlier ambitions of becoming Nairobi governor after years of cultivating a political following in the capital.

Although she has yet to formally announce her candidature, the businesswoman has signalled her intentions through billboards erected at strategic locations across Nyeri county.

The billboards, bearing messages announcing her gubernatorial ambitions, have been accompanied by grassroots engagements as she seeks to establish a political foothold in the county.

“Nothing beats love of the people. Wishing you all a super great weekend,” she said in a post, accompanied by a billboard announcing her candidature.

Her apparent change of political direction marks a significant shift for a politician who has spent several years pursuing elective leadership in Nairobi.

In the 2022 General Election, Kagure contested the Nairobi gubernatorial seat as an independent candidate but lost to Johnson Sakaja, who ran on the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) ticket.

She garnered 10,086 votes, representing 0.76 per cent of the total votes cast, in a race dominated by Sakaja.

Before the 2022 contest, Kagure had emerged as a prominent figure in Nairobi politics, particularly after being shortlisted for the deputy governor position by former Governor Mike Sonko in 2018.

She subsequently built grassroots following through community initiatives and political mobilisation across several informal settlements and residential neighbourhoods.

Through the Agnes Kagure Foundation and initiatives such as Mbogi ya Mama, she has supported community programmes involving food distribution, access to clean water and assistance to vulnerable groups.

Her involvement in community activities, alongside her business career, has helped establish her public profile beyond electoral politics.

Kagure is also an established figure in the insurance industry, having founded and served as managing principal of The Insurance Consulting Group.

She received recognition from the Association of Kenya Insurers as Agent of the Year in 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2013.

Her decision to shift her political ambitions to Nyeri now places her in a different political environment, where she will have to build alliances and demonstrate her support among local voters.

Current contenders for the Nairobi gubernatorial seat are Sakaja, Embakasi East MP Babu Owino, Embakasi North MP James Gakuya among others.