Fresh uproar as Uhuru and Ruto fail to name Jubilee officials

Anxiety over the membership of Uhuru Kenyatta’s  presidential campaign team announced yesterday, and the failure by the party leadership to unveil national Jubilee Party (JP) officials have triggered fresh turmoil within the party.

During a Special National Governing Council meeting at Bomas of Kenya attended by the President and Deputy President William Ruto yesterday, some delegates protested after the list of the Jubilee’s Presidential Campaign Committee was read out by the DP.

At one point, DP Ruto was forced to interrupt his speech as groups of people streamed towards the dais where the President was sitting, to submit additional names. Amid the protestations, Ruto told delegates to submit proposals where they felt names had been left out. 

The delegates were expecting that the governing council would table a list of an expanded team of interim national party officials.

Anxiety over a list of members of Jubilee’s Presidential Campaign Committee announced yesterday, and the failure by President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto to unveil national Jubilee Party (JP) officials has triggered fresh turmoil within the party.

During a meeting at Bomas of Kenya attended by the President and DP Ruto yesterday, some delegates protested after the list of the campaign committee was read out by the DP.

At one point, Ruto was forced to interrupt his speech as groups of people streamed towards the dais where the President was sitting, to submit additional names. Amid the protests, Ruto told delegates to submit proposals where they felt names had been left out.

It had been widely expected that naming of the officials would be central to JP’s first special National Governing
Council meeting at Bomas  yesterday. Instead, Ruto announced that the party would only hold elections for its officials 90 days after next year’s General Election. The party elections, he said, would be presided over by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC). 

Yesterday, President Kenyatta and the DP walked into the Bomas auditorium a few minutes to 1pm armed with a 61-member list, largely populated sitting legislators, and called it Jubilee’s Presidential Campaign Committee.

Crucial boost 

Some of the members of the campaign committee have been working closely with Jubilee leadership on various fronts. For instance, Kiraitu Murungi co-chaired the committee that spearheaded dissolution of various parties into Jubilee. Former legislator Raphael Tuju has been working as an advisor to the President and has been mentioned as the likely candidate for the position of JP’s secretary general. Naomi Shaaban and Katoo ole Metito have been President Kenyatta’s close allies over time.

At least four members of the campaign committee have declared interest in the gubernatorial position in Nairobi. They Include Mike Sonko, ohnson Sakaja, Bishop Margaret Wanjiru and Dennis Waweru. Nairobi is the only county that has seen four gubernatorial candidates named in the presidential campaign committee.

Yesterday, delegates had been expecting that the governing council would name party officials to replace the interim officials. Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria had intimated that naming of party officials would be a crucial boost in
setting the political ball rolling. Kuria had exuded confidence that the inauguration of officials would go a long way towards ensuring a majority win for JP in next year’s General Election.

“We will hit the ground running with maximum force. Let them watch this space. Seventy per cent plus one is a  reality,” said Kuria.

When The Standard on Saturday contacted him yesterday, he received the call but became jittery when we introduced the topic. He said he was in traffic and would call back but he hadn’t by the time of going to press.

Laikipia West MP Wachira Karani said the unveiling of interim party officials would have given proper direction to a vigorous campaign and recruitment of members.

While some legislators openly rejected  the list, others could be heard registering their discomfort to each other in whispers moments after DP Ruto finished reading out the list. Maara MP Kareke Mbiuki noted that the presidential campaign committee unveiled yesterday was a disservice to aspirants who fear those picked were endorsed by the President and his deputy.

“The feelings of the aspirants to have a non-partisan team are legitimate and their issue has not been sorted. Most of those picked are politicians with vested interests and they may use their positions to scare off opponents,” said Mbiuki.

The Standard on Saturday spoke to highly-placed sources within the party, who intimated that a decision to name a new list of Jubilee Party interim officials was withdrawn at the last minute for fear of possible fallout. 

Development record 
“We all knew that the list of officials was to be officially released today (yesterday). Even key players in the party had been informed. But there was an early morning meeting between President Kenyatta and DP Ruto at State House after which the list of officials was withdrawn from yesterday’s agenda. There was conventional opinion that the forum would not be the best platform to unveil the list,” said our source.

Prior to the announcement of the campaign committee, it was all jubilations for President Kenyatta as he addressed the delegates. His speech was interrupted by several standing ovations from the crowd that kept shouting, “Uhuru Kiboko Yao” as he poked holes into former Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s candidacy.

The President’s pattern of speech assumed three dimensions — he vigorously enumerated his development record, launched an all-out war against Raila and pleaded with the delegates to popularise the party in preparation for his re-election bid.

Kenyatta listed what he said is Jubilee’s major achievements, ranging from education, security, energy and water and transport industry among others.

He described Raila as a leader who thrives on “propaganda, lies, and rumours”. At one point, he referred to Raila as “Lord of Poverty”.

“We refuse to be distracted by people who want to divert our attention from doing the best for Kenyans into a dirty field of dirty things. A man who cannot compete on the basis of ideology, one who thrives on propaganda is not worth our attention.

Every project we start he calls it ufisadi (graft). He has lied about a water project in Murang’a, he is today lying about another one in Kipsigis in the hope that we shall lose votes. All the projects we do, he can’t see. No wonder he is called Lord of Poverty,” Kenyatta said.

DP Ruto equally tore into the op-position leadership, saying they are incapable of leading the country to prosperity.
“If you combine the number of years you and I were ministers, it is seven years. If you compare that with the number of years our competitors served as ministers in total, Kalonzo almost 30, Raila’s 30, Musalia’s almost 30 and the rest... you will discover that they were actually in Cabinet for 105 years. Yet we have been able to do more in three years than  what these people did for the 105 years they were in Cabinet. What is it
now that they want to do differently?” said Ruto amid laughter from delegates.