Defections, court battles and violence rock Jubilee elections

Aspirant protests at Nyeri National polytechnic on 15 December 2016,during the meeting to select Jubilee Party interim officials in Nyeri which was marred by chaos. Threats of lawsuits, claims of vote-rigging and defections marked the fourth day of selection of Jubilee Party leaders across the party’s strongholds in the Rift Valley and Mt Kenya regions. (PHOTO: KIBATA KIHU/ STANDARD)

Threats of lawsuits, claims of vote-rigging and defections marked the fourth day of selection of Jubilee Party leaders across the party’s strongholds in the Rift Valley and Mt Kenya regions.

While violence disrupted the exercise in Embu, Laikipia, Tharaka Nithi, Nyeri and Nakuru counties, in some regions many of the leaders who were favoured by well-established politicians lost out.

For the last four days the party has been selecting officials in 47 counties to run JP’s campaign in anticipation of the 2017 General Election following the appointment of a 61-member presidential campaign secretariat last month. While some members were picked through a voting process, others were selected through consensus and other random methods, causing an outcry from some of the aspirants.

In some regions in President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Mt Kenya stronghold, aspirants threatened to quit the party, while others decamped to other political parties.

Yesterday, Nominated Senator John Njoroge ditched JP for KANU, saying the election was a sham. He was welcomed to Kanu by the party’s chairman Gideon Moi.

Things were no different in Embu where an aspirant for the governorship, Kithinji Kiragu, announced that he would defect to another party, just days after he paid the Sh100,000 fee required from participants. Kiragu said the elections were bungled, and described them as chaotic and thuggish.

Parallel line-up

“All key players want to use unorthodox means to capture seats in JP for selfish ends,” Kiragu said, but he would not disclose which party he was headed to.

In Nakuru County, Bahati MP Kimani Ngunjiri’s preferred choice for chairman James Karimi, was rejected.

Through consensus, local leaders and aspirants agreed to have former Nakuru Town MP David Manyara picked as the county’s overall chairman. Manyara will work with 11 other chairpersons in the county’s constituencies.

Disappointed by the rejection of the candidate he had hoped would be picked, Ngunjiri threatened to come up with his own JP line-up to run parallel to the one that was picked.

Nakuru Governor Kinuthia Mbugua, who had earlier aligned himself to Ngunjiri, joined County Assembly Speaker Susan Kihika’s team at the last minute when it became evident that Karimi would be rejected.

Less established aspirants found the going tough in some counties where some of the more seasoned politicians pushed through their preferred candidates.

In Nyeri, a large group of people reported to the District Criminal Investigations Office, claiming they were attacked and intimidated by rivals allied to Governor Nderitu Gachagua’s camp. About 480 aspirants accused key figures in the JP headquarters of working with the region’s incumbent leaders to rig them out. Wambugu Nyamu, their spokesperson, claimed that top JP representatives sent to oversee the elections met sitting elected leaders and two top politicians at a hotel on Wednesday night where they hatched a plot to hand over the party’s leadership to aspirants aligned to top politicians from the region.

“We got wind that teams in the JP headquarters were meeting with incumbents and two leading politicians aspiring for various county positions, one of whom introduced himself as the chairman of aspirants,” said Nyamu, who wants to vie to become Nyeri senator.

However, Nyeri Town MP Esther Murugi described the elections as fair, transparent and all-inclusive.

Elsewhere across the Rift Valley, National Assembly Deputy Speaker Joyce Laboso emerged winner in Bomet County.

Former National Chamber of Commerce Bomet branch chairman Bernard Mutai, a Laboso ally, was picked unopposed as the interim county chairman.

Despite differences between Laboso’s supporters and those of her arch-rival and former Konoin MP, Julius Kones, no ugly incidents were reported. The area MPs and aspirants thereafter endorsed the list of interim officials.

Little issues

In Kericho, aspirants who had been blocked from entering the elections venue, broke the cordon and disrupted the polls.

In Narok, supporters of Governor Samuel Tunai and his rival Patrick Ntutu failed to agree on the venue of elections, delaying the exercise for several hours.

In Nyandarua County, aspirants for various positions were united in rejecting a line-up fronted by sitting MPs and elected Nyahururu lawyer Chege Gakuhi as chairman. Officials of the defunct The National Alliance (TNA) party led by Ndegwa Wahome lost out during the highly contested elections.

In neighbouring Laikipia, candidates aligned to Laikipia East MP Mutahi Kimaru were elected despite protests from leaders from Laikipia West led by Wachira Karani.

“The exercise confirmed our fears that the JP team does not have control power over the incumbents since they are the ones controlling how the elections are conducted,” said Simon Mithamo, a Laikipia senatorial aspirant.

Across the country in Mombasa, Anania Mwaboza threatened to challenge the poll outcome in court after his rival Suleiman Shahbal’s camp took all the seats.

“We never boycotted the elections. What happened was clear abuse of democracy in a party that boasts of having the President and his deputy as its leaders,’’ said Ali Mwatsahu, who was contesting for the post of chairman and is allied to Mwaboza.

Yesterday, the JP headquarters accused outsiders of causing the violence. “The process has so far been concluded in 40 counties. It is only in four counties out of the 40 that we had little issues,” said head of Jubilee Secretariat Raphael Tuju.