Keroche CEO Tabitha Karanja Secures UDA Ticket for Nakuru Senate

Keroche Breweries CEO Tabitha Karanja will fly the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party flag in the Nakuru senatorial race in the August 9th elections.

The businesswoman secured the Nakuru senatorial ticket in the UDA party nominations after garnering 98,439 votes. 

Her closest competitor Gichanga Daniel secured 12,240 votes ahead of Andrew Yatich (8,043) and Ndirangu James Mukami who got 5,303 votes.  

Last week, the 57-year-old entrepreneur and industrialist changed her official name from Tabitha Mukami Muigai to Tabitha Karanja Keroche.

The tycoon, in a sworn affidavit, said she will use the new name “for all purposes.”

“She has formally and absolutely renounced and abandoned the use of her former name Tabitha Mukami Mungai, and in lieu thereof assumed and adopted the name Tabitha Karanja Keroche, for all purposes and authorises and requests all persons at all times to designate, describe and address her by her assumed name Tabitha Karanja Keroche only,” read a Kenya Gazette notice number 4013 dated April 8th.

The move was seen as part of her strategy to sell her name following her entry into elective politics this year.

Politicians eyeing various seats in the upcoming elections have been keen to change their official names to reflect their better-known identities.

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.

Tabitha 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.