Martha Karua meets with John Agyekum Kufuor, former President of Ghana /SCREENGRAB

People’s Liberation Party (PLP) leader Martha Karua has visited former Ghanaian President John Agyekum Kufuor in Accra to draw lessons from his administration’s development record as she positions herself for the 2027 presidential race.

Karua said Kufuor’s investments in healthcare, education and school feeding programmes offered lessons for Kenya, particularly on how governments can improve livelihoods by putting people at the centre of development.

In a statement on Wednesday, the opposition leader said her meeting with the former Ghanaian president had reinforced her belief that investment in people was among the most enduring legacies a leader could leave.

“It was a pleasure to visit H.E. John Agyekum Kufuor, former President of Ghana, at his residence in Accra,” she said.

“His time in office saw significant investments in healthcare, education and school feeding programmes that recognised the connection between human dignity, opportunity and national development.”

Karua singled out Ghana’s school feeding programme, which links children’s nutrition with education while supporting local agricultural production, as an example of how public policies can address multiple development challenges.

“Ghana's school feeding programme, in particular, linked children's nutrition with education and support for local agriculture,” she said.

She added that Kufuor’s record reflected the kind of future she wanted for Kenya, where access to opportunities would not be determined by a person’s place of birth or economic circumstances.

“It is this kind of future I want for Kenya, one where opportunity is not determined by where you are born, where dignity is not a privilege, and where every child can dare to dream beyond their circumstances,” she said.

Kufuor served as Ghana’s president from January 2001 to January 2009. His administration introduced the National Health Insurance Scheme, expanded access to basic education through capitation grants and implemented social intervention programmes targeting vulnerable households.

During her visit to Accra, Karua also joined women leaders from across Africa at the Elevate Africa Women’s Leadership Breakfast, convened by Her Royal Majesty Olori Atuwatse.

The meeting brought her together with Ghanaian Vice-President Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang and former Malawian President Joyce Banda.

Karua said the gathering had strengthened her resolve to pursue leadership that advances opportunities and a fairer future for future generations.

“When women come together, they expand the possibilities of what leadership can achieve,” she said.

She added that meeting women leaders from across the continent reinforced her conviction that more work remained to be done to achieve a freer and fairer society.

“History is shaped by women who refuse to accept that things must remain as they are,” Karua said.

The engagements come as Karua, one of the opposition figures positioning themselves for the 2027 presidential election, continues to articulate her vision for Kenya, placing social investment, equal opportunity and women’s leadership among the themes she has highlighted during her Ghana visit.