Jubilee should not favour Eugene Wamalwa in bid for city job

A few days ago, the battle between Jubilee and CORD went a notch higher after reports that Water Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa is being fronted by individuals in the ruling coalition to vie for the position of Nairobi governor. Later, Wamalwa would announce he was planning to relocate from his political support base in Trans Nzoia to join city politics. This was after four Central Kenya leaders endorsed his candidature.

Wamalwa was quoted as saying he was busy doing his job to ensure Kenyans access clean water and would not indulge in active politics. However, the minister said he will quit Government at the right time and announce his political interests.

Former Starehe MP Margaret Wanjiru has joined him and announced she will be his running mate. The two re-affirmed this position during the memorial service of the late Vice President Wamalwa Kijana in Kitale.

But Wamalwa’s decision has not gone down well with a section of politicians who have dominated Nairobi politics for years. Some Jubilee MPs, including those who have already declared interest in unseating Governor Evans Kidero of ODM, have since denounced Wamalwa’s candidature. This was after reports the CS is a project of powerful individuals in Government. Those opposed to Wamalwa’s bid allege a plot to impose a candidate on city residents.

And the name of Deputy President William Ruto has been dragged into this debate with claims he is the one pushing the Wamalwa candidature. His critics claim Central Kenya MPs supporting Wamalwa are doing so at the behest of the DP. 

There are reports that Ruto wants to kill two birds with one stone. That he is hoping to use his influence to ensure ‘his friend’ Wamalwa becomes Nairobi governor with hopes that he can install another governor in Trans Nzoia who will push his agenda as prepares to succeed President Uhuru Kenyatta.

However, this is a dangerous game plan and he is likely to lose control of both seats if he is not careful. If it is true that Wamalwa is Ruto’s project, this will amount to interfering with party nominations. Kenyans will not accept to be short-changed. This is the same blunder that cost Raila Odinga-led ODM dearly in the 2013 elections.

The DP has since denied the claims and clarified he does not have preferred candidates. President Kenyatta has also taken the same position. Uhuru said the Jubilee Party constitution provides that party nominations are conducted by IEBC, hence, manipulating the process would not be easy.

Nairobi MPs are not opposed to Wamalwa because of ethnicity or for being an outsider. What is giving them sleepless nights is that Kenyan politics is still immature and there is no ethics. Thus, they fear that even with the IEBC conducting Jubilee nominations, powerful individuals can still have their way and unfairly hand Wamalwa the ticket.

To me, these are legitimate concerns. All that Jubilee supporters want is to be assured they will be allowed to pick the party’s candidate as should be the case. Failure to sort the matter out may condemn Jubilee to another loss in the battle to control Nairobi politics. Some of those opposed to the Wamalwa-Wanjiru ticket are Senator Mike Sonko, Nominated MP Johnson Sakaja and Dagoretti South MP Dennis Waweru. Going by the votes Sonko garnered in 2013, you can only ignore him at your own risk. Sonko has has warned if nominations are manipulated, he will ditch Jubilee and and run for the governor’s seat as an independent candidate, which would not be good news for Jubilee.