Tuju blamed for Mvita Jubilee fiasco

Jubilee Party Secretary General Raphael Tuju has been accused of shortchanging an aspirant for the Mvita parliamentary seat.

Saturday, JP supporters allied to Mohamed Salim alias Tenge accused Tuju of double standards for issuing the party certificate to Omar Shallo, Tenge's rival.

Led by Ms Sofia Mohamed, the supporters also accused Mombasa gubernatorial candidate Suleiman Shahbal of being behind Shallo's candidature after his attempt to convince Tenge to step down failed.

"There is a scheme to ensure incumbent MP Abdulswamad Nassir retains his parliamentary seat by giving him a weak opponent," protested Ms Sofia.

Another supporter, Mr Swaleh Mohamed, said that failure to award Tenge the certificate might cost the party dearly in the August General Election.

"Tenge has sacrificed a lot with his personal resources to popularise the party in the region compared to his political rival Mr Shallo but he (Tenge) is being shortchanged," he said.

Last week, Shallo's supporters took to the streets protesting the delay to issue him with the certificate. This was after an interim report by the Independent Electoraland Boundaries Commission (IEBC) had indicated that Tenge was the Mvita Jubilee candidate. They are seeking an audience with President Uhuru Kenyatta to settle the matter.

This emerged after Shallo confirmed to have camped at the Jubilee Party headquarters in Nairobi waiting for the certificate.