Six legislators switch to Jubilee

One Senator and five Members of Parliament previously allied to Cord on Thursday defected to the new Jubilee Party ahead of its unveiling on Saturday.

Turkana Senator John Munyes, MPs Nicholas Ngikor (Turkana East) and his Loima counterpart Protus Akuja officially ditched Moses Wetangula’s Ford Kenya to join the new party.

The trio was received to the new party by Water Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa and Bungoma Governor Kenneth Lusaka at the Bomas of Kenya in Nairobi during the dissolution of New Ford Kenya to join the new party.

Also defecting to the new party were Sirisia MP John Waluke, his Mathare counterpart Stephen Kariuki and Nominated MP Isaac Mwaura from the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM).

Mr Munyes invited Mr Wetang’ula to follow suit and defect to the new party.

The Turkana senator had recently past maintained a low profile and rarely attended Ford Kenya functions.

But the clearest sign that he was headed to the new outfit was in April when he appeared at a thanksgiving rally for President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto at Nakuru’s Afraha stadium.

Mr Waluke on the other hand resigned from his post as the ODM chairman for Bungoma County two months ago citing lack of democracy in the party.

He teamed up with Budalang'i MP Ababu Namwamba to form a “third force” but declared recently that he would join Jubilee.

Mr Kariuki too had openly declared his resolve to defect to the new party mid this year.

Mr Mwaura recently announced that he had consulted ODM leader Raila Odinga and informed him of his decision to quit the party and join the Jubilee party.