Two rival factions have now emerged in the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) Nairobi branch as the ruling party holds its grassroots elections across the country.
One wing that backs Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja has claimed victory in the just-concluded ward elections. Mr Sakaja is vying for the position of Nairobi UDA boss.
After successful elections on Friday, the governor claimed that candidates allied to him had secured 240 out of 340 delegate positions.
On the other hand, there has been silence in the camp of Embakasi North MP James Gakuya, who is also eyeing the UDA chairmanship.
On Wednesday, when Governor Sakaja held a delegates’ meeting at the Bomas of Kenya, he alleged that his opponent, Mr Gakuya, is a project of a senior party official.
Mr Sakaja congratulated his supporters who won their respective elections at the ward level and stressed the importance of unity.
The governor urged his supporters to come together and drum up support for the team as they gear up for the remaining ward elections, and eventually the polls for the chairperson’s seat.
“We shall not be divided by tribal politics, we shall pursue unity for a better Nairobi,” Mr Sakaja said.
But Mr Gakuya accused the governor of using goons to disrupt the peaceful election in Starehe Constituency, which were postponed by the party.
Nairobi South Member of County Assembly Waithera Chege, who is among the agents of Mr Gakuya, maintained that the MP will emerge the winner in the final vote.
“Governor Sakaja must accept that the chairman of Nairobi County is Mr Gakuya because numbers don’t lie,” Ms Chege said.
She also alleged that some voters were being allowed to cast their ballots using identification cards that belong to other people.
“Police officers in civilian clothes were voting in Starehe. Sakaja has disrupted the county assembly, and he has now come to cause confusion in Starehe. It is high time that he accepted that Nairobi, and especially UDA members, have said that enough is enough,” Ms Chege said.
Last Wednesday, while addressing delegates that support him, the Mr Sakaja accused his opponents of advancing politics of ethnicity.
At the same time, the governor said that it was wrong for Deputy President to fuel infighting in UDA party that is headed by President William Ruto.
The DP and Mr Sakaja have for long been reading from different scripts, which has resulted in some of the governor’s development plans being delayed.
The governor dismissed allegations that the Nairobi governor’s seat was handed to him on a silver platter. He said that he was duly elected by the residents of Nairobi.
Mr Sakaja claimed that his opponent for the UDA Nairobi branch chairmanship position, Mr Gakuya, is a project.
“Let me tell you this, the one I’m competing with is not a candidate. He is a project,” Governor Sakaja said while addressing hundreds of UDA ward delegates at the Bomas of Kenya on Wednesday
