Jaguar gets nod for Starehe parliamentary seat

Starehe Jubilee parliamentary aspirant Charles Njagua"Jaguar" displays his nomination certificate after he was declared the winner at the party headquarters.  Photo: Boniface Okendo

The Jubilee Party Appeals Tribunal has overturned MP Maina Kamanda's victory and declared musician Charles Njagua Kanyi alias Jaguar the winner of the Starehe parliamentary nominations.

This sets the stage for one of the city's most tantalising battles as Jaguar prepares to meet his match in media savvy Steve Mbogo of Orange Democratic Movement and activist Boniface Mwangi of Ukweli Party.

Jaguar, who was a heartbeat away from victory when it was snatched by his rival, has been on the warpath for almost a week and at one time even wept in public at the Jubilee headquarters as his charged supporters urged him on.

Mr Kamanda, a veteran Nairobi politician, was controversially declared the winner by the the party's returning officer in the constituency following the April 25 primaries.

Compelling evidence

Addressing the press at the party headquarters yesterday, the tribunal's chairperson, Faith Waigwa, termed the evidence presented by Jaguar compelling, and said it clearly showed that he had won the primaries.

Ms Waigwa said Mr Kamanda also failed to substantially rebut the opponent's evidence.

"Based on the evidence adduced before the tribunal by the complainant, this tribunal finds that the complainant's evidence on alterations of his results garnered at the tallying centre is so compelling that it is clear that he had won in the nominations," said Waigwa.

"Accordingly, the tribunal hereby overturns the results as declared by the returning officer Starehe constituency declaring Kamanda the winner and declares Njagua the winner and candidate of Jubilee Party," she added.

Jaguar, who addressed the media after the ruling, said he had confidence he would win the poll dispute since he had beaten Kamanda by a wide margin.

"We knew we would win the case because there was no single polling station that Kamanda beat us in," he said.

The verdict was well received by his supporters, who have been camping at the party headquarters for three days in a row.

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