Four Jubilee aspirants gang up against Kenneth candidature

Four aspirants competing for Jubilee ticket for Nairobi governorship will meet Thursday and try to hammer out a deal to have a united front against a rival faction.

MPs Dennis Waweru (Dagoreti South), Johnstone Sakaja (nominated), Mike Sonko (Nairobi Senator) and former Starehe MP Margaret Wanjiru who have ganged up against former Gatanga MP Peter Kenneth will meet in Nanyuki.

The Jubilee factions are feuding on who is the best candidate to battle it out with the incumbent ODM’s Evans Kidero, who has not had a challenger within the opposition yet.

Reports suggested party leader Raila Odinga has planned a tour of the capital city this month to campaign for his presidential bid and seek the re-election of Kidero.

Kenneth, who vied for the presidency on a Kenya National Congress (KNC) ticket in 2013 but has now defected to Jubilee Party, has the backing of Nairobi MPs Maina Kamanda (Starehe), Yusuf Hassan (Kamukunji), Rachael Shebesh (Nairobi County MP), John Njoroge (Kasarani) and Mwangi Gakuhia (Embakasi North).

The meeting was to be held on Tuesday but was postponed because Sonko was with Deputy President William Ruto in Coast.

The aspirants will retreat to an exclusive hotel in Nanyuki to discuss the matter.

The meeting is expected to come up with a team to spearhead the process of picking the faction’s lineup for governor’s seat, deputy governor, senator and MP for Starehe constituency.

When contacted Waweru said: “It is true we are in the process of identifying the best candidate to battle it out with the others for the JP’s gubernatorial seat. This is an internal party affair and our common stand is to get the best to clinch the party primaries. We want the chosen person to undergo a competitive nomination process.”

“Yes we are in discussion with a view of getting a winning team. However, for now we have not sealed a deal on any line up,” said Sonko.

Kamanda says those fighting Kenneth are afraid of fair competition.

“We have been insisting that people seeking this seat have to come together and agree on one candidate to face the incumbent. Our enemy is not within Jubilee but CORD and Kidero,” Kamanda says.

Ruto had last month met all the aspirants and asked them to reach an agreement on a joint candidate to battle it out with Kidero.

President Uhuru, while launching the Jubilee Party at the Kasarani Safaricom Stadium, promised fair and free nominations and ruled out that no aspirant will be given direct nominations.

Sonko and Waweru have been fuming over the backing of Kenneth by Jubilee MPs and Members of the Nairobi County Assembly (MCAs).

Last August, Water Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa’s candidature drew criticism and support from Jubilee leaders in the capital city after he was endorsed by Kabete MP Ferdinand Waititu, Kanini Kega (Kieni), Jude Njomo (Kiambu) and Mpuru Aburi (Tigania East) during a church function in Kiambu.

Nairobi MPs then dismissed the idea branding Wamalwa a “political project” but some MCAs supported him. Wamalwa has since declared that he will be vying in Trans Nzoia to unseat Governor Patrick Khaemba.

The aspirants are now focussing on strategies to win Jubilee nomination in Nairobi since no one is willing to back out of the race.

And the Nanyuki talks for four Jubilee talks may be complicated since their are no indication of a compromise candidate.

“I welcome Kenneth in Nairobi but I don’t support him. If he has consulted the President and he is given a direct nomination, I will vie as an independent candidate. I must be on the ballot paper. All those other contenders are non-starters,” Sonko said.

“I cannot step down for anybody. I have always supported this government and has not offended it. I respect the presidency but if they ask me to step down, I will vie as an independent candidate,” Sonko said.

And Waweru said he had his eyes on the ball.

“I believe I am the best candidate on offer for Jubilee. I respect my competitors because eventually, it is hoped the losers will back the winner against Kidero,” Waweru said.

“I am in the race to be Nairobi second governor. We welcome all candidates to Jubilee and assure them of a free and fair process to establish the best candidate,” Sakaja said.

And Wanjiru described herself as an active grassroots mobiliser with a strong development record.

“I am firmly in the race and sure of a clear win since this will not be my first time to campaign in the city. Nairobi voters are clever and will vote for me because I am the right person to deliver the services,” she said.

Kidero is lucky since no one has challenged him for the ODM ticket.

The Nairobi governor said he would defend his seat and retain Jonathan Mueke as his running mate.

“I have started many multi-million shilling projects in the capital city and I am defending my seat so that I get to finish the projects I began,” Kidero told The Standard.

The governor exuded confidence that he will recapture the seat, noting that his tenure has enabled him to get to understand how well to govern the city.

“Bringing in a new person will delay development programmes as he or she will require more time to acquaint themselves with the governance structures. But I welcome my competitors from any quarter of the country,” Kidero said.

ODM party is supporting Kidero’s reelection since he is a key financier of party activities.