Embattled Jubilee Party Secretary General Jeremiah Kioni has said that former President Uhuru Kenyatta will continue being the party leader until the National Delegates Conference (NDC) decides otherwise.
Kioni said that Uhuru only retired from his state duties but still remains at the helm of Jubilee contrary to the thinking of the rival faction led by Eala MP Kanini Kega that the former president ceased holding party leadership in March.
Addressing journalists after a meeting with Jubilee county chairpersons from across the country at the party headquarters in Nairobi on Thursday, the secretary general insisted that the NDC slated for May 22 and 23 at the Bomas of Kenya, Nairobi, will go on as planned.
"Let it be clear that the former President has not asked anyone to give him pension. If that is the reason some people are advancing to want to deny him his right to be the party leader, Uhuru will continue being our leader and we are going to ratify that during the National Delegates Conference," he said.
The former Ndaragwa MP said that it is only the NDC that can decide whether the party should continue being in Azimio la Umoja One Kenya or not.
He maintained that the decision by the Kega faction to work with Kenya Kwanza was illegal since it was not approved by the party.
Kioni challenged the rival faction to appear before the NDC and sell their agenda and if it is adopted by members it will be well and good and if rejected, they will be at liberty to quit the party and either form another one or join an outfit they are comfortable with instead of rocking the boat from within.
Jubilee National Vice Chairman David Murathe said the crisis in the party is beyond Kioni and Kega but was being sponsored by senior people in the Kenya Kenya administration who are out to break Jubilee in a revenge for being kicked out before the last General Election.
"Nominated MP Sabina Chege and Eala MP Kanini Kega have shown how ungrateful they are for accepting to be used to fight Uhuru whose efforts enabled them to be where they are today. They are committing a political mistake that they will live to regret," said Murathe.
He insisted that the notion that Jubilee can be an independent party in Parliament should be debunked since it belongs to Azimio and working outside the coalition will be a great disadvantage to the party which clearly made a choice on where it belonged.
Murathe said Jubilee does not support the Finance Bill 2023 as it will end up overburdening Kenyans who are already suffering due to the policy choices made by the Kenya Kwanza Alliance which were vunpopular to the majority of Kenyans.
Former Public Service Chief Administrative Secretary Rachel Shebesh said it was wrong for the Kenya Kwanza administration to target the former president and majority of Kenyans were not happy with the manner in which he was being handled since it was setting the wrong precedent.
"Let those who are in power today know that they will also retire one day and would want to be respected, let them extend the same respect to former President Uhuru Kenyatta who relinquished power voluntarily and has got a right to make political choices without being hindered," said Shebesh.
Former Samburu Woman Rep Maison Leshoomo told Nominated MPs and MCAs that they have no choice but to abide by the party decisions failure to which they risk being recalled and their positions given to other deserving individuals.
Leshoomo said that Chege and Kega should be the last people to fight Uhuru since he has played a major role in propelling them to where they are today and their conduct shows that they have no respect for the party leadership.
Kega had early this week said the NDC called by Uhuru stands suspended and the party will in due course issue a notice convening a Special Delegates Convention pursuant to the resolution of the National Executive Council dated February 10.
The Eala MP claimed that due process was not followed in calling for the special NDC and they have to clean the party register first to ensure that only genuine delegates participate in making crucial decisions as they work to rejuvenate Jubilee.
"The other day you saw the former President Uhuru Kenyatta visiting the party headquarters accompanied by non-members, we want to have the right structures in place and have party members participate in our affairs, that is why we want a well-planned National Delegates Conference," said Kega.
He said the decision to cancel the special NDC is supported by the majority of the party members and elected leaders since they feel that they are being rushed into a meeting whose agenda is not clear.
