Mystery over lobby behind Uhuru dinner

President Uhuru Kenyatta greets Salgaa residents during a tour of Nakuru County on June 3, 2017. The Friends of Jubilee Foundation has organised a reservation-only dinner to raise money to support the President’s re-election. PHOTO | SAMWEL MIRING’U | NATION MEDIA GROUP

A group of business people behind a fundraising dinner in support of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s re-election remains a mystery, with Jubilee officials remaining tight-lipped over the matter.

MPs and Jubilee Party officials interviewed yesterday declined to name the business people behind a lobby that has been registered as an NGO. The dinner is scheduled for Friday at Safari Park Hotel, Nairobi.

The Friends of Jubilee Foundation has organised a reservation-only dinner to raise money to support the President’s re-election.

MINT CASH

However, no Jubilee MP or party official was willing to provide information on the foundation Monday, raising questions about its membership and intentions.

In the past, similar lobbies have been used to mint cash from gullible supporters of top politicians.

Gatundu North MP Moses Kuria told the Nation that there was only one foundation in Jubilee that was raising money for President Kenyatta’s re-election but refused to mention names.

“You cannot name the names behind the foundation but they are friends of Jubilee Party and President Uhuru Kenyatta,” he said.

In a newspaper advert on Sunday, the foundation asked party members to attend the dinner and help raise money, if the "future of Kenya" under President Kenyatta is to be guaranteed.

'NOT AWARE'

“The foundation invites you to support the future of Kenya at a dinner with President Uhuru. Come let us put our efforts together for our beloved nation,” said the advert.

On Monday, Kiharu MP Irungu Kang’ata said he was not aware of the foundation.

“I am in Jubilee and I do not know about the foundation [and] neither have I heard about it; I have also not been informed by anybody about the existence of any such foundation,” said Mr Kang’ata.

Mara MP Kareke Mbiuki said he had heard about the foundation but did not know the people behind it.

Jubilee Party vice-chairman David Murathe said the foundation is legally registered with the NGOs Coordination Board.

“Friends of Jubilee Foundation is a registered NGO; other political parties have similar formations and nobody has ever raised a question about the faces behind [them].”

State House spokesperson Manoah Esipisu could not confirm or deny whether President Kenyatta will attend the dinner.