Disgruntled Jubilee aspirants pin hope on President Uhuru Kenyatta’s intervention

Gubernatorial aspirant Kilemi Mweria reads out a memorandum after a daylong meeting of JP aspirants in Meru town. More than 100 aspirants asked President Uhuru Kenyatta to distance JP from the Kiraitu Murungi, Florence Kajuju and Mithika Linturi. [PHOTO: PETER MUTHOMI/STANDARD]

Disgruntled Jubilee Party aspirants in Meru now want President Uhuru Kenyatta to intervene over the composition of interim branch officials.

Speaking at a meeting which culminated into a memorandum to be sent to the President, the aspirants said they had little faith in the ability of the interim office to deliver credible party primaries.

“There is a political formation in Meru called Kikali that has been erroneously equated to JP,” said the group in a statement read by governor aspirant Kilemi Mwiria.

Kikali is an acronym of a line up comprising Senator Kiraitu Murungi, Woman Representative Florence Kajuju and Igembe South MP Mithika Linturi.

The aspirants blamed the lineup of placing the party branch in a tight control. They claimed that many aspirants had stopped eyeing the JP ticket while two senatorial aspirants -- GG Thuranira and Maranya Kobia -- had been threatened into to dropping out in favour of Linturi.

Dr Mwiria said the Kikali’s stranglehold on the branch was risky and could contribute to voter apathy. “Every vote counts especially when one considers that Uhuru only managed to exceed the 50 plus one vote threshold by 8,000 votes in 2013,” said Mwiria yesterday in Meru town.

Meanwhile, Kiraitu and his close allies yesterday accused an MP of hiring people to heckle his representatives at a rally in Kajuju’s home village last weekend.

A furious crowd heckled Murungi’s running mate Titus Ntuciu and shouted down Ms Kajuju’s husband Gitonga Amaru at a rally attended by Mwiria and local MP David Kareithi in Tigania West.