Kiambu MP Machua Waithaka has stepped up his grassroots empowerment drive, combining investment in sports, digital skills and small-scale economic activities in a bid to expand opportunities for young people and community groups in the constituency.
The legislator said the initiatives were aimed at giving residents practical tools to improve their livelihoods while creating avenues for young people to develop their talents and compete in the fast-growing digital economy.
Machua made the remarks after joining Football Kenya Federation (FKF) officials in Kiambu Sub-County for a grassroots football tournament that brought together 16 teams from across the constituency.
Kirigiti United emerged winners, followed by Blue Raider Soccer Academy in second place and Ting’ang’a United Sports Club in third.
The MP awarded the top three teams medals, trophies and financial support to strengthen their activities and prepare them for future competitions.
Each of the 16 participating teams also received three footballs to support training and participation in subsequent tournaments.
Olympics FC striker Allan Wangusi was awarded after emerging as the tournament’s top scorer with 29 goals.
Machua said sports had become an important avenue for nurturing talent, instilling discipline and keeping young people engaged in productive activities at a time when many youths face unemployment and limited opportunities.
He thanked FKF Kiambu Sub-County chairman Bonface Njoroge and his deputy Bernard Kimani for supporting grassroots football and providing a platform for young players to showcase their abilities.
The MP’s sports intervention comes as he also intensifies efforts to equip young people with digital skills that could help them tap into the growing online jobs and technology economy.
The Ndumberi Jitume ICT Hub is set to resume training after its trainers completed a three-month Training of Trainers (TOT) programme organised by the Ministry of ICT.
The trainers had been recalled in April to undergo the programme, which focused on updating and integrating the latest improvements into the Ajira Digital curriculum.
Machua announced that a new cohort of trainees would begin classes at the Ndumberi Jitume ICT Hub on August 10 at 10am.
The training will be offered free of charge to eligible young people who are voters and residents of Kiambu Constituency.
Courses on offer include Artificial Intelligence, cyber security, digital marketing, academic writing, data entry and data analysis, among other digital skills considered critical in the changing job market.
The MP urged young people to take advantage of the programme, saying digital skills could open doors to employment and income opportunities beyond the traditional job market.
The return of the training programme is expected to rekindle interest among young people seeking to acquire skills that can enable them to work remotely and participate in the global digital economy.
The constituency has also continued to focus on grassroots economic empowerment, with Waithaka recently meeting men and women’s groups in Kihingo, Riabai Ward, where he distributed chicken and donated piglets to beneficiaries.
The initiative is part of his broader economic empowerment programme, which he said was designed to help families establish income-generating activities and strengthen household livelihoods.
Machua said his support for community groups began years before he entered active politics, adding that his objective had always been to promote self-reliance rather than dependency.
He pledged to expand capacity-building and livelihood support programmes across Kiambu Constituency, arguing that sustainable development must be anchored in empowering residents to create opportunities for themselves.
The MP’s approach places sports development alongside digital training and economic empowerment, reflecting a broader strategy of engaging young people while supporting households through skills and productive assets.
As the 2027 political contest begins to take shape, such grassroots initiatives are also likely to become an increasingly important measure of how elected leaders demonstrate their record of delivery and engagement with voters.
For Machua, the message is that investment in the constituency should extend beyond physical infrastructure to include the people themselves—through talent development, technology skills and support for community-based economic activities.
“Yangu ni Kazi Tu,” the MP said, reaffirming his commitment to what he described as a long-term programme of delivering development and empowering residents across the constituency.
