Why Jubilee shelved party nominations in Kiambaa, Muguga
Jubilee Party Secretary-General Raphael Tuju at a past event.
President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Jubilee party will tomorrow conduct interviews for at least 24 aspirants who have expressed interest in its ticket for the Kiambaa parliamentary and Muguga Ward by-elections.
The ruling party seeks to change strategy after losing two key positions in its Mt Kenya stronghold during the Tuesday mini polls.
Jubilee Secretary-General Raphael Tuju on Friday said that they will conduct interviews for seven aspirants who have expressed interest in the Kiambaa seat and another 17 who are seeking the party’s nod to vie for the Muguga Ward seat in Kabete Constituency.
Suitable candidate
“We will carefully scrutinise who is running and what qualities they have so that we have a suitable candidate to fly our party’s flag. This is in accordance to our nomination rules which allows for interviews or party primaries,” Mr Tuju said.
Among the seven aspirants eying the Kiambaa seat on Jubilee ticket are three members of the Koinange family including his first widow June Koinange, Lennah Koinange and Damaris Waiganjo.
Other contestants are; Karanja Njama, Josephat Gichuhi, Eric Mutura and Charles Ndung’u.
Mr Tuju noted that the change of plan is aimed at avoiding infiltration of their party primaries by their opponents “whose sole purpose is to ensure we have a weaker candidate so that they can embarrass us in the by-election.”
Party primaries
Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) set July 15 as the date for the two by-elections both in Kiambu County.
“We are cognizant of the fact that a number of people don’t turn up for party primaries and even the by-elections and so the dynamics are completely different.”
“So we want to conduct interviews and give the certificate to a candidate who has the best chance of winning,” said Mr Tuju.
He pointed out that the by-election is about the vote mobilisation, clan factors, popularity and resources among others that must be considered in the interviews.
Kiambaa seat fell vacant following the death of Paul Koinange who succumbed to Covid-19 related complications on March 31.
Muguga's by-election comes following the death of Eliud Ngugi, who also passed on in March.
Political analyst Mr Dismas Mokua holds that Kiambaa needs a candidate who will hit the ground running and secure President Kenyatta’s interests both in Kiambaa and at the national level.
Avoid embarrassment
The constituency party needs a leader who is well known for community work besides possessing skills in identifying and solving problems.
“To avoid embarrassment, Jubilee must produce a candidate who will significantly increase the probability of the party retaining the Kiambaa seat,” Mr Mokua said.
In the Tuesday mini poll in Juja Constituency, Jubilee candidate Susan Waititu lost to People's Empowerment Party (PEP) candidate Mr George Koimburi.
She managed 5,764 votes against Mr Koimburi’s 12,159 votes.
In Rurii Ward, UDA candidate Francis Muraya won by garnering 4,178 votes against Jubilee's Peter Thinji who received 3,051 votes.
In Bonchari, Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) bagged the seat through its candidate Mr Pavel Oimeke who garnered 8,049 votes against Zebedeo Opore of Jubilee who got 7,279 while Deputy President William Ruto-linked United Democratic Alliance (UDA) candidate Teresa Bitutu received 6,964 votes.
