Uhuru’s rallying call for Jubilee unity adds fuel to race for Nairobi governor's seat

The battle for the Nairobi governor’s seat has gone a notch higher, with President Uhuru Kenyatta stepping in to unite a divided Jubilee fighting to wrest the seat from a resurgent Dr Evans Kidero (Cord).

On Monday last week, President Kenyatta whipped his troops into order a day after Dr Kidero and Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho staged a high-profile ODM rally at Masinde Muliro grounds in Huruma, Nairobi.

During a tour of various parts of the city, accompanied by two aspirants for the governor seat — Nairobi Senator Mike Sonko and nominated MP Johnson Sakaja — Mr Kenyatta asked politicians seeking the Jubilee Party ticket to unite and support one candidate.

“Whether they pick Margaret Wanjiru, Mike Sonko, Johnson Sakaja or any other candidate for the Jubilee ticket, we will respect the people’s decision,” he said.

Mr Kenyatta’s intervention followed a high-profile rally Dr Kidero held in the city the previous day accompanied by Mr Joho during which they declared that Cord was determined to clinch all the seats in Nairobi during the 2017 general elections.

Two days later, Dr Kidero raised temperatures when he hosted ODM delegates in Nairobi and declared that he would go out of his way to ensure that Cord leader Raila Odinga wins the presidency.

CAMPAIGN FOR RAILA

He vowed to ensure that Mr Odinga’s votes in Nairobi County increased from the 700,000 he garnered in 2013, to over one million in the next polls.

“I will do anything to ensure that Raila clinches presidency even if I will use money as Raila will change the lives of Kenyans and make sure that there is equality,” said Dr Kidero.

Speaking to the Nation, Dagoretti North MP Simba Arati said Cord had a formulae to clinch all seats in Nairobi in 2017.

“Jubilee has been trying to create the impression that Nairobi is theirs. We want to tell them that Nairobi belongs to Cord,” he said.

Ford Kenya deputy party leader Boni Khalwale appeared to give a hint of the Cord formulae when he said that the party was proposing that the coalition fields a single candidate for the Nairobi governor’s seat.

Come Friday and Dr Kidero again held a meeting with Cord co-principal Kalonzo Musyoka where they discussed the need to retain the governor’s seat.

Dr Kidero was accompanied by his deputy Jonathan Mueke.

Saturday, Jubilee leaders in Nairobi maintained that they were not shaken by Dr Kidero’s resurgence and that Mr Kenyatta’s call for unity had nothing to do with the Huruma rally.

“It had nothing to do with the Cord rally, we also had our rally in Mathare. What the president was saying is that the city belongs to Jubilee and we must reclaim it from Cord,’ said Mr Sakaja.

“Just like ODM’s candidate is already known, we also want to know our candidate and whoever wins the popular vote will be supported by all the others. We are not panicking about Dr Kidero,” he added.