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The candidature of an Ukweli Party member for the vacant Kibra parliamentary seat following the death of Ken Okoth in July has renewed the rivalry between activist Boniface Mwangi and Raila Junior.
The fiery exchange started when Junior, the son of Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, watered down the chances of Ukweli’s candidate Editar Ochieng winning the seat.
A matter not taken lightly by Mwangi, Ukweli Party leader, who strongly admonished Junior over his stand.
According to Junior, the party is wasting its time fronting Editar to contest for the position.
Junior insisted that Ochieng was destined to fail in the contest to succeed Okoth who lost the battle to colorectal cancer.
“I honestly feel there will be more spoilt votes than votes for her Boniface Mwangi if Sport Pesa were still on I’d make that bet. Why would someone waste their time and money like this?” he tweeted.
In a quick rejoinder, however, Mwangi told off Junior over what he said were double standards.
The activist highlighted that Junior's father, Raila, had run for the presidency several times without success.
“Your father Raila Odinga has been running for President since 1997. 22 year later he is still running but has never been sworn as president. Junior let Editar run for MP Kibra in peace. Bet on your dad becoming president in 2022 and let Editar Ochieng be,” Mwangi responded.
Not to be outdone, Junior fired back at Mwangi that he was digressing from the real issues.
“It’s so easy to clickbait you, Mwangi how many votes do you believe Ukweli Party will gather? I will not let her run in peace as I’m also a registered voter in Kibera. Why are you posing a nonstarter who will digress from the real issues?” Junior responded.
The verbal exchange between the two continued with Mwangi urging the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party leader's son to step out of his father's shadow.
"Bullying a young woman because she dared vie in a party not owned by your father Raila Odinga is purely wrong. Editar of Ukweli Party is my choice, you don't have a choice yet because daddy hasn't picked someone for you. Become your own man," he tweeted.
The Kibra parliamentary seat, which fell vacant following the death of Ken Okoth, has attracted a number of candidates from various parties including football star McDonald Mariga who is running on a Jubilee ticket.
