Beer Tycoon Tabitha Karanja Joins Ruto’s UDA Party, to Vie for Nakuru Senate Seat

Tabitha Karanja, the CEO of Keroche Breweries has joined the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party ahead of the August 9th general elections.

Karanja was welcomed to the party by Deputy President William Ruto during a rally at Nakuru ASK grounds on Wednesday.

The 57-year-old beer tycoon announced she will contest for the Nakuru senatorial seat in the forthcoming elections on a UDA party ticket.

Karanja, who is venturing into politics after more than 30 years in business, vowed to ensure that laws that are passed in parliament are not used to oppress and harass businesses.

"I want to be the next Nakuru Senator so that I can ensure that the laws we make at the top do not oppress you here on the ground... I have listened to you and I agree that the only vehicle I should use to get to the Senate to represent you is the UDA party," said Karanja.

"I have also listened to the deputy president on the bottom-up economic model. I have practised it for the last 25 years. I'm the practical example of bottom-up economic model."

Tabitha co-founded Keroche Breweries with her husband Joseph Karanja in 1997. The Naivasha-based company has grown to be the second-largest alcoholic beverages producer in Kenya.

She won the Africa Awards for Entrepreneurship (Transformational Business Award) in 2015 and also received the Moran of the Order of the Burning Spear (MBS) award from President Mwai Kibaki.

Keroche is currently embroiled in a court battle with Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) over alleged tax arrears amounting to Sh14 billion.