Jubilee leaders demand party meeting to iron out issues

Jubilee Party Legislators Nakuru Senator Susan Kihika, Starehe MP Charles Njagua Kanyi, Elgeyo-Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen, Kimilili MP Didmus Barasa, John Kiarie, Dagoretti South MP, Tetu MP James Gichuhi and Kikuyu MP Kimani Ichungwa during the prayer service at revival Sanctuary of Glory Church in Kawangware, Nairobi. [Beverlyne Musili/Standard]

Pressure is piling on President Uhuru Kenyatta and top Jubilee leadership to convene a party meeting, with some MPs citing the urgency to iron out emerging issues.

Senate Majority Leader Kipchumba Murkomen and other leaders from the Rift Valley region, the bedrock of Deputy President William Ruto, demanded that the party’s members meet soon.

Dr Ruto has been in the eye of the storm for the past one week after David Murathe, an Uhuru ally, who until Sunday was the interim Jubilee Vice Chair, rubbished his 2022 presidential bid.

Yesterday, Mr Murkomen, who appeared on a local TV's morning show, admitted that the current problems in the party arose from the fact that top members of the political outfit had not met in the recent past to deliberate on emerging issues.

The Elgeyo Marakwet Senator, who is a member of the Jubilee Party National Executive Committee, said the handshake between Uhuru and Opposition leader Raila Odinga was one of the issues that had not been discussed by members.

MPs David Pkosing (Pokot South), Nelson Koech (Belgut), Didmus Barasa (Kimilili) and Robert Pukose (Endebess) echoed Murkomen’s sentiments, noting that the leadership of the party should not bury its head in the sand.

They urged the party’s disciplinary organ to crack the whip on Mr Murathe, saying his utterances and continued attack on Ruto would cause antagonism in the leadership of the political outfit.