Your time is over, Uhuru told amid Jubilee party wrangles

A section of Jubilee members allied to Eala legislator Kanini Kega, who is jostling for the Secretary-General position with former Ndaragwa MP Kioni, has opposed the scheduled National Delegates Conference (NDC), arguing that the National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting held on Friday was illegal.

The Standard has established that the convention was called following a meeting attended by Secretary General Jeremiah Kioni, Vice Chairman David Murathe, and National Treasurer Kagwe Gichohi.

But in a statement to newsrooms, Jubilee chairperson Nelson Dzuya said that Murathe, Kioni and Gichohi had been suspended by NEC pending an internal disputes resolution process pursuant to the judgment of the Political Parties Disputes Tribunal (PPDT) delivered on April 19.

Dzuya claimed that the NEC meeting lacked the necessary quorum provided under Article 23 of the party's constitution which spells out that meetings of all party organs shall be attended by one-third of all the members.

"The members of NEC entitled to attend are 21 and therefore, to meet the quorum requirement a NEC meeting cannot have less than nine members in attendance. Additionally, if the suspended officials were in attendance their participation would be of no legal consequence and their numbers would not count," he said.

The chairperson also brought to the fore that only Kega, the Acting Secretary General or his deputy Joshua Kutuny can issue a valid notice to convene a NEC meeting given that former President Uhuru Kenyatta, who he referred to as the former party leader, ceased being the leader of the party in March by operation of Section 6(1) of the Presidential Retirement Benefits Act.

The section provides that a retired president shall not hold office in any political party for more than six months after ceasing to hold office as president.

"We have also learned that purported resignation letters of some of the party officials were tabled in the said meeting to create the impression that they had voluntarily resigned from their respective positions with the intention to submit that information to the Registrar of Political Parties (RPP) and any other relevant public agencies," read the statement in part.

"We, therefore, notify the public that there have been no such resignations and any such letters of resignation that may come to light would be fraudulent and criminal in nature. We will in due course forward all information that may come to our attention regarding this matter to the relevant investigative agencies," it added.

Dzuya said the party would remain steadfast on the legal processes that are currently ongoing pursuant to the said NEC resolutions and the PPDT ruling that Kioni, Murathe and Gichohi be subjected to a "fair internal party disputes resolution mechanisms."

Notably, Jubilee's NEC made changes on February 9, replacing the former Ndaragwa MP with Kega. The Registrar of Political Parties approved the changes only for the PPDT to overturn them.

It was also agreed that Kioni, Murathe and Gichohi be suspended for their conduct of the political outfit's affairs.

Consequently, Eldas MP Aden Keynan was to take over as vice chairperson and Rachael Nyamai to serve as National Treasurer in an acting capacity.

The former Ndaragwa MP, however, claimed that the meeting was held without the members following the rules of the law, thereby calling for his suspension to be lifted.

On Tuesday, Jubilee was ordered to vacate the premises they use as their headquarters after Kioni and Kega supporters clashed over party leadership.