Jubilee to launch manifesto Monday

The Jubilee Party on Friday evening said it will launch its manifesto on Monday at the Safaricom Kasarani Stadium.

The party said President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto “will be making another solemn pledge to Kenyans” in the manifesto to be launched on Monday. Monday is also a public holiday, Idd Ul Fitr.

In his campaigns over the past month, President Kenyatta has been asking Kenyans to extend their mandate to continue the work started in the current term. That, too, will be the theme of the manifesto, going by the Jubilee Party’s statement.

“In the pledge that will be made, we will highlight the achievements we made so far, present to the nation our vision and a concrete plan for a developed, progressive and united Kenya that we can all be proud of, with a firm commitment to all Kenyans on how, together, we will build on the solid foundations laid to take Kenya to the next level,” the party said.

The party cited infrastructure development, the stipends for the elderly and free maternal healthcare as some of the current administration’s achievements.

Jubilee’s 2013 coalition featured President Kenyatta, Mr Ruto, Charity Ngilu and Najib Balala as equals but this time round, all the parties merged into the Jubilee Party.

Ms Ngilu has since left the coalition and gone into National Super Alliance (Nasa) with her party, Narc.

President Kenyatta’s main challenger, according to opinion polls, is Nasa’s Raila Odinga.

The Opposition coalition is scheduled to launch its manifesto on Tuesday.

Manifesto launches are usually glitzy events, where the show often appears to supersede the message, and independent candidates have criticised their more dominant opponents as appearing more interested in theatre and showmanship