Wiper leaders rebut ODM claims on Embakasi South

ODM Secretary General Edwin Sifuna. [Photo, Standard]

Two Wiper leaders have rebuked a section of ODM leadership which wants all NASA affiliate parties to keep off the Embakasi South by-election and back Irshad Sumra.

ODM Secretary General Edwin Sifuna, Makadara MP George Aladwa and Ruaraka’s TJ Kajwang’ were quoted last weekend saying the affiliate parties should forgo the seat and back Mr Sumra, warning that ODM would ‘humiliate’ any other candidate.

The leaders also claimed that National Super Alliance (NASA) coalition - comprising of ODM, Kalonzo Musyoka’s Wiper, Senator Moses Wetang’ula’s Ford Kenya and Musalia Mudavadi’s ANC, died a year ago. 

Back off

But Wiper’s former director Henry Rop said ODM was the one to back-off.

“One cannot say keep off the one and only Wiper seat in Nairobi, when ODM has more than one. Sifuna, if anything, should get Sumra to stand down for MP JM Mawathe,” said Mr Rop.

His sentiments were echoed by Wiper’s Embakasi East parliamentary candidate in 2017 election Fred Musau. He termed Sifuna’s comments as reckless and extremely disrespectful to Wiper supporters.

“I wonder how ODM has managed to put up with Sifuna’s pettiness,” he said.

Musau, who also coordinates activities of Wiper and NASA Diaspora supporters in Nairobi, said Mawathe deserves to be re-elected to finish the good job he has done for his constituents.

He  said the NASA leadership should not have entertained this ‘court process’.

“To compensate for the support Wiper gave their candidates in Mathare, Ruaraka, Makadara, Embakasi East and Dagorreti North where the Kalonzo party withdrew its candidates, Sumra should be asked to withdraw from the by-election,” he said.

On Friday, Jubilee announced that it will not be fielding a candidate in the city by-election.