Cracks emerge in Kenya Kwanza amid revolt in Mt Kenya over Gachagua’s choice
The Kenya Kwanza Alliance (KKA) is facing hurdles with the affiliates calling on for respect.
Some hopefuls from various parliamentary seats in Kiambu county yesterday warned KKA Ruto against favouring candidates from the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) over those from smaller affiliate parties.
Pius Mbugua and George Gitau Wanjiru, who led the aspirants, requested Ruto and the Alliance’s senior brass to treat all affiliate parties equally.
“There ought to be no sacred cows in the Kenya Kwanza alliance and all affiliate parties should be treated as equals.” Gitau, a Chama Cha Kazi parliamentary aspirant and Wanjiru for Kikuyu echoed the sentiments, saying Kenya Kwanza partners should be accorded equal treatment.
Rigathi Gachagua has downplayed the emergence of separate factions inside the party as merely sibling rivalry thus far.
Despite Tharaka Nithi Senator Kithure Kindiki being one of the frontrunners, Gachagua highlighted that the divisions developed days after the party’s presidential flag bearer, Deputy President William Ruto, chose him as his running partner.
Gachagua, however, refuted charges that his personality caused internal party strife in an interview with a local radio station, insisting that he was not a tyrant as claimed.
During tours to the Central Kenya region, a number of leaders have expressed dissatisfaction, stating that UDA affiliate party candidates sponsored by Chama cha Kazi (CCK) and The Service Party (TSP) of Kenya have disregarded and abandoned them.
Speaker Wahome Ndegwa, who is aiming to unseat Governor Francis Kimemia in Nyandarua, was openly frustrated and rejected by his Chama cha Kazi party leader Moses Kuria, who asked people to back UDA candidate Kiarie Badilisha.
When the party annulled Wahome’s ticket in favor of the UDA candidate, Wahome, who claims to have paid a Sh500,000 nomination fee for the ticket as well as an equal amount to support party activities, went to court and was reinstated to run.
Wahome dismissed Kuria and other discriminating UDA party officials as outsiders in Nyandarua, whose acts have no bearing on his candidacy.
“I did not contest so that I’m supported by a party or a stranger to Nyandarua. Most important is that the DP appreciates that all the Candidates in Kenya Kwanza are his candidates and appreciates our support and he treats us with the utmost respect.We do not support the DP because he belongs to UDA; No. We love him for standing with the community and for walking with us during very difficult times,” said Wahome.
TSP Deputy Secretary-General Waithaka Kirika, who is also running for Nyandarua Governor, admits that the UDA has disadvantaged against candidates from other coalition parties, particularly in the Central Kenya region, and accuses the UDA party leadership of hypocrisy in the coalition, particularly in the Central and Western Kenya regions.
“All that the UDA is doing is hypocritical; they cannot provide Senator Moses Wetangula and ANC leader Musalia Mudavadi criteria of 70 per cent votes from Western Kenya, yet the two leaders are expected to follow the DP in his campaigns across the country,” Kirika said.
“If the DP is honest, let him facilitate the two leaders’ campaigning in Western Kenya, let him give them the resources, the helicopters if he is not playing business with them, meaning to deny them a portion of the government if he wins the elections,” he continued.
