Starehe Member of Parliament Maina Kamanda and former Kamukunji legislator Simon Mbugua today conceded defeat and vowed to support their competitors in the just concluded Jubilee party primaries in the August 8 elections.
Kamanda and Mbugua rallied their supporters to back Charles Njagua Kanyi alias Jaguar and incumbent MP Yusuf Hassan respectively.
Elsewhere, former Foreign Affairs Permanent Secretary Thuita Mwangi and Gatundu North MP Francis Kigo Njenga decamped from Jubilee to vie as an independent candidate for the Laikipia Governor’s and Gatundu North seats respectively.
In a statement Thuita said he made the decision after learning that the Jubilee Party tribunal was planning to nullify the contested nomination results also questioned by other candidates like Ndiritu Mureithi.
On his part, Njenga accused the tribunal to buying time to deliver his verdict saying he won but the returning officer announce Wanjiku Kibe as the party nominee.
In Nairobi as Mbugua withdrew his quest for Jubilee ticket for Kamukunji, Kamanda accepted the verdict giving Jaguar the Starehe Jubilee ticket and vowed to focus on campaigning for President Uhuru Kenyatta.
The exit of Kamanda and others comes at time the City is bracing for youthful leadership in the political stage.
The veteran politician, who insist he won the Jubilee ticket, dismissed rumours of vying as an independent candidate “because that will split votes in the constituency in favour of the opposition candidates.”
“Three of my supporters are in hospital because of shock.I urged my supporters to back Jaguar although I have some issue to pick with the party secretariat. The exercise was infiltrated by opposition supporters after the National Election Board allowed voters to use National Identification Cards,”said Kamanda.
He said the exercise was not fair “because the party register was not used.” The Starehe legislator exonerated Deputy President from blame and claimed the party’s secretary general Raphael Tuju was to blame for the “sham exercise,” but insisted he will not quit Uhuru’s party out of loyalty.
In the city its a two horses face pitting Jubilee and National Super Alliance (Nasa) as he urged other aspirants who lost not to defect from the party.
Kamanda insists he won but blamed forces at the party headquarters who are advocating for young people
