Jubilee leaders step in to avert fallout over governor's job

Margret Wanjiru, Senator Mike Mbuvi Sonko and nominated MP Johnston Sakaja are some of those who have declared an interest in running on Jubilee's ticket.

NAIROBI: Intense jostling by Jubilee's Nairobi governor hopefuls has forced the party's top guns to step in to stop the infighting.

Aspirants in the newly-launched Jubilee Party have been pulling in different directions, putting the party at risk of losing to Governor Evans Kidero in next year's polls.

Nairobi Senator Mike Mbuvi Sonko, Dagoretti South MP Dennis Waweru, nominated MP Johnston Sakaja, Water Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa and former Starehe MP Margret Wanjiru are some of those who have declared an interest in running on the ruling coalition's ticket.

Efforts to unite the five aspirants began on Sunday when National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale led some of them to a political rally in Mlango Kubwa in Mathare.

Yesterday, Mr Waweru disclosed that President Uhuru Kenyatta had instructed that Starehe MP Maina Kamanda should lead efforts to unite them as well as ensure they had joint campaigns.

Mr Duale further told The Standard that the ruling coalition was pulling out all the stops to present a winning team to unseat Dr Kidero by ensuring all nominations losers backed the winner.

On Sunday, Sonko, Sakaja and Ms Wanjiru attended the Mathare rally and promised to work together. But even as they presented a united front, Wanjiru's supporters heckled Sonko, prompting the senator to ask that they be kicked out of the event.

IMPROMPTU TOUR

On Monday, in what was seen as an attempt to boost unity among the leaders, Uhuru took it upon himself to make an impromptu tour alongside some of the aspirants.

"Whether they pick Margaret Wanjiru, Mike Sonko, Johnson Sakaja or any other candidate for the Jubilee ticket, we will have to respect the people's decision," Uhuru said.

Duale and Waweru said the aspirants had promised to work together in ensuring that Jubilee unseated Kidero in the general election next year.

"All these leaders belong to our party and we believe in internal competition and democracy. Ultimately, we have a plan to win the governor's seat," said Duale.

"We will not divulge our strategy for now, but we shall do whatever it takes to present a winning team to clinch the seat in 2017," he added.

"President Uhuru has made it clear the party will have a free and fair nominations conducted by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC)," said Waweru.

He said they would soon start campaigning together as they strategised to defeat the incumbent.

"The President said it is through nominations that Jubilee will get a candidate and we have promised to work together," he added.