On 4th November 2016 The Jubilee Party held its first National Governing Council meeting at the Bomas of Kenya led by President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Deputy William Ruto. The meeting was initially convened in order to name Party Officials but contrary to that, only regional campaign officials were named.
Deputy president William Ruto announced that the party had selected a group of individuals to lead and plan the party’s campaigns and manifesto. The list unveiled includes Governors, Senators, Members of Parliament and Women Representatives. The team will spearhead the Jubilee agenda in the regions they represent.
Less than 2 weeks after the appointment of the campaign team, disgruntled party members are murmuring over what they termed as unfair favor to their competitors. They say individual members are using this extra party privilege to gain political millage among their electorates and influence the opinion of their communities.
They are worried that some members are misguiding the public that their membership in the party campaign team is a direct party nomination making them a cut above their competitors.
Mostly affected are counties in northern Kenya where clan is the supreme organ making political decisions. Sources privy to the political unfolding in those counties have confirmed that sitting members of parliament who are no longer the communities’ favorites and are facing political hostility are using the party’s appointment in the campaign team to redeem their political image and influence their clan hard decision against them.
In the middle of these circus are Takaba MP Engineer Mumad, majority leader Adan Duale and Wajir East legislature Abass Mohamed. Takaba MP Engineer Mohamud was unceremoniously dropped by the Gare council of elders in the much publicized Banisa declaration that saw all elected leaders dropped in favor of rotational clan political system.
The neighboring Wajir County is no better. The only Jubilee legislature Abass Mohamed who almost dropped his political ambition due to his dwindling popularity declared himself the only politician with a direct jubilee ticket and told his clan members to reconsider their decision despite not being the political darling of the people anymore.
However, his opponents Rashid Kassim told Kenya today that jubilee will still hold free and fair nominations and he is the peoples favorite, on the other hand a Mombasa based business man and Wajir East ODM point man Noor Abdirashid termed Abass as a drowning man clutching on a straw, he further urged elders that his youthfulness and grassroots connections supersedes the empty dream the incumbent is living in.
This comes even as the deputy president and PSCU member and jubilee blogger Denis Itumbi confirmed that there will be no direct ticket and the will of the people and the secret ballot cannot be compromised.
The recent jubilee merger and the subsequent establishment of the party’s campaign team coupled with their claim of superiority over other party members has demoralized many who considered themselves bona fide party members.
It is now up to Jubilee to explain to the electorate and clear the mess they created as the 2017 general elections is only less than nine months away.
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