Jubilee Party has no preferred candidate in race for Nairobi County governor, say MPs

Starehe MP Maina Kamanda. He yesterday said Jubilee has no preferred candidate for the Nairobi gubernatorial seat. (PHOTO: COURTESY)

Starehe MP Maina Kamanda yesterday said Jubilee has no preferred candidate for the Nairobi gubernatorial seat.

Speaking at a meeting convened by Nairobi MPs for Jubilee gubernatorial aspirants, Mr Kamanda maintained that no aspirant should expect special treatment from the legislators.

“We as MPs elected on Jubilee ticket have no preferred candidate. All of them are equal according to us,” he said.

He disclosed that as MPs, they want to be seen moving together to clinch as many seats as possible in the county: “At least Jubilee should get more than 60 MCAs and 14 parliamentary seats come 2017 elections.”

Kamanda dismissed claims that he had called the meeting to push for Water Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa’s agenda, and wondered why some aspirants refused to attend when all they wanted was to bring them together so that they can campaign harmoniously in the city.

“We wanted to have one sitting with the candidates to assure that there is no preferred candidate and that they should feel free to campaign because it is Nairobians who will decide the next governor,” he said.

He also told off some aspirants who are “spreading romours” that the President and his Deputy are pushing the agenda of one of the candidates. “I speak to the DP and I want to tell all Nairobians that he is not supporting anybody. Those people invoking his name either have a problem or they have sensed defeat,” said Kamanda.

He said he is the senior most Jubilee politician in the city today, hence his decision to create harmony among all candidates ahead of the JP convention at Kasarani.

The Water CS and former Starehe MP Margaret Wanjiru were among gubernatorial hopefuls who attended the meeting.

The two had earlier hinted on working together to oust the incumbent Governor Evans Kidero.

“But let it be clear that no one is out to be the other’s deputy,” said Bishop Wanjiru on the sidelines on the meeting.

Those who skipped the meeting are Dagoretti South MP Dennis Waweru, Nairobi Senator Mike Sonko, former Mayor Philip Kisia, nominated MP Johnson Sakaja and former National Assembly Speaker Kenneth Marende.

One of the candidates who sought anonymity told The Standard on Saturday that Kamanda was under pressure to bring all the candidates together and all Nairobi MPs attended because they believed all aspirants would be present.

“We did not want to be used to legitimise Wamalwa’s candidature. We feel sorry for Kamanda because we had told him we would attend,” said the aspirant.

 

Sonko said he had not gotten a clear agenda of the meeting and instead went to intervene in Embakasi Central where a school was being demolished. Mr Waweru was cagey on why he stayed away.

Sources, however, told The Standard on Saturday that Sonko, Waweru and Mr Sakaja felt the agenda would only give legitimacy to the Deputy President’s push to have Wamalwa as the Jubilee candidate.

Mr waweru said: “There is no crisis. No candidate needs to be given the green light to start campaigning in Nairobi. All of us are free to go to the ground in preparation for the nominations which will be conducted by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission.”