Jubilee aspirant and gambler Macdonald Mariga was to have a campaign meeting with supporters at Eastlands Hotel along Kindaruma Road in Nairobi’s Kilimani area, then he was no show. However, some managed to make advanced orders and left without paying in the confusion.
Supporters became unruly, demanding to eat and drink on his bill but the hotel was adamant such an order had not been given by the footballer-turned-politician.
A room that had been arranged for the meeting was jammed by supporters in the early hours of the evening, but the endless wait for Mariga saw many depart, weighed down by the realization that their he may not show up, after all.
“Ameanza kutulenga mapema aje (he’s started snubbing us quite early),” a distraught supporter was heard saying.
At the lobby of the hotel, guests were treated to the disorder of politics as supporters of Mariga started demanding money from any guest who checked in.
The hotel has reportedly banned political gatherings and want Mariga to foot the bill of those who dined on his name.
Mariga has perfected small groups campaigns, mostly avoiding Kibra constituency but ferrying supporters to various venues within Nairobi, in what sources say is his strategy of “minimum contact”.
