Jubilee can’t survive long without me, says Ngilu

Water minister Charity Ngilu on Wednesday declared that her stay in the Jubilee alliance was paramount to its political survival.

Mrs Ngilu asserted that she could not be dismissed from the alliance because the dissenting coalition partners needed her more than she needs them.

The minister said her National Rainbow Coalition was an indispensable entity in the Jubilee Alliance as she was the only “clean face” in the grouping, who could deal with rising doubts among Kenyans over its top leaders.

“Narc brings to Jubilee alliance a much needed political legitimacy and sobriety to deal with rising concerns among Kenyans over whether we should be entrusted with the country’s leadership,” Mrs Ngilu told a gathering of teachers and pastors she hosted at a Kitui hotel.

Mrs Ngilu insisted she will still contest the Jubilee presidential nominations because Kenyans were wary of the prospects of another Kikuyu presidency and that her candidacy provided the perfect compromise.

The Narc leader said she will not abandon her quest for presidency under the Jubilee alliance and dismissed earlier reports that she had been locked out the presidential primaries adding that her popularity had caused panic and jitters in some quarters.

“I didn’t sign any agreement with the people who were purporting to lock me out of the presidential primaries. In any case, they have already retracted the statement,” the minister said.

“It is also against democratic principles to limit the nomination contest to Deputy Prime Ministers Uhuru Kenyatta and Musalia Mudavadi. Political parties must nurture competition and internal democracy,” she added.

“Am not a quitter. I am used to fighting political giants and don’t expect to get anything on a silver platter, so bowing out of the presidential nominations is out of the question,” she said.

The minister spent the second day in Kitui holding consultations with leaders to convince them that the Jubilee Alliance presidency was the best for the community.

She also accused Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka of hypocrisy for claiming that they would push for the local trial of Kenyan suspects facing charges at the Hague-based International Criminal Court.