Jubilee seeks to put house in order, gag members after list fallout

A wing of the Jubilee Party that includes Secretary-General Raphael Tuju has succeeded in ensuring its candidate for the Kibra by-election is selected through interviews.

The party, in a statement signed by Mr Tuju, said interviewing of aspirants to determine the flag-bearer is among the three nomination methods allowed in the party’s constitution.

Jubilee also limited authorised spokespeople on party affairs to three officials, essentially gagging others deemed to be stoking confusion that has rocked the party over controversial communication.

The chairman of the National Election Board (NEB) Andrew Musangi is the only one authorised to be quoted by the media on matters related to the nomination process.

“He has powers to delegate that authority,” Tuju said in the statement.

He added that all interested aspirants are required to apply as prescribed by NEB by close of business on Friday.

Tuju said will scrutinise all applications and invite all those who are compliant for interviews between August 31 and September 2.

“We encourage all interested aspirants to obtain application documents from the office of the party directorate of elections. All matters and announcements on elections will only be done through the chairman of the NEB, until after the nomination process is complete.”

The directive

The directive was necessitated by a list of five aspirants purportedly released by the party and submitted to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) on Monday evening, two hours after Tuju announced the party’s decision to contest the vacant seat following the death of Ken Okoth last month.

Nicodemus Bore Menjo, who allegedly spoke on behalf of the party, had confirmed the list as legitimate as it bore the secretary general’s signature.

However, on Tuesday, IEBC sought clarification on the authenticity of the list after it was declared fake and one of the aspirants listed, footballer McDonald Mariga, denied expressing interest in the by-election.

Insiders said it took tense moments between the top leadership to force a truce that gave rise to the statement released by Tuju yesterday. However, they revealed, internal action will be taken against those behind the contentious list.

“On Monday August 26, the Jubilee Party announced its decision to participate in the forthcoming Kibra by-election after consultations with Musangi and agreed on the guidelines,” the statement read.

 

Fake news

Tuju said apart from Musangi, who is officially authorised to communicate on the nomination process, Peter Kahara, who is the director of elections and seconded to the NEB as per the party’s constitution to provide secretarial services, can speak if allowed.

“Ordinarily, he is not allowed to address the press unless authourised by the chair of the board,” he said.

He added that Albert Memusi, who is the party’s director of communications, may be contacted for authentication of communication from the party secretariat, which has become necessary to curb fake news.

“The office of the SG has no role under the party constitution to deal with nomination issues other than communicating decisions of the NEB after receiving a written communication from Mr Musangi,” Tuju said.

Some officials allied to Deputy President William Ruto have accused Tuju of trying to interfere with the nomination process to field a weaker candidate.