Jubilee headache in drive to control capital city in 2017

Front, from left: Navakholo Member of Parliament Emmanuel Wangwe, Water and Irrigation Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa and Deputy President William Ruto in Turob. Mr Wamalwa is expected to vie to be Nairobi governor in the 2017 General Election. PHOTO | DPPS

What you need to know:

  • With the entry of Water and Irrigation Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa pushing the number of candidates vying for the two positions to 10, there is fear that the coalition may opt for a negotiated democratic process to choose its candidates and to achieve ethnic balance.

  • It is believed Mr Wamalwa has a head start, given his experience running two government ministries, ethnic advantage and closeness to President Uhuru Kenyatta.

The Jubilee coalition is struggling to forestall a possible fallout in Nairobi if its nomination process will not be considered fair by politicians eyeing gubernatorial and Woman Representative seats.

With the entry of Water and Irrigation Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa pushing the number of candidates vying for the two positions to 10, there is fear that the coalition may opt for a negotiated democratic process to choose its candidates and to achieve ethnic balance.

It is believed Mr Wamalwa has a head start, given his experience running two government ministries, ethnic advantage and closeness to President Uhuru Kenyatta.

A number of candidates have said that unless the nominations are fair, they will not hesitate to vie on affiliate party tickets, a scenario that could hand Cord continued control of city politics.

Among the solutions being considered by the party is to hold its nominations when the elections are very close in order to make it impossible for losers to hop to other parties.

To be allowed to contest on any seat in a General Election, a candidate is supposed to have been nominated by their party and presented their certificates to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission and Registrar of Political Parties 21 days to the poll.

Parties usually hold their nominations one-and-a-half months to an election but Jubilee insiders say the coalition plans to do this at the last minute to prevent defections to affiliate parties.

It is against this background that last weekend, Nairobi Senator Mike Sonko hinted that he was willing to join Cord.

FLAG BEARER

“I traversed the country with Kalonzo. Even now I am ready as long as he is the flag bearer of Cord,” he said during the burial of the father of Mavoko MP Patrick Makau in Ngelani, Machakos.

Mr Sonko and Dagoretti South MP Dennis Waweru, who are both seeking nomination for the governor’s seat, have for the last few months been engaged in a supremacy contest.

Three weeks ago, they exchanged barbs in front of Deputy President William Ruto at a church service in Dagoretti.

Mr Waweru has, however, sworn he won’t step down for anyone.

“I am in the race to the end and will not step down for anyone,” Mr Waweru told the Nation.

Nominated MP Johnson Sakaja is also in the race.

“I expect nothing more than credible nominations,” said Bishop Margaret Wanjiru, who is also eyeing the seat.

But as the race for the governor’s seat gets overcrowded, so is the contest for the Woman Representative’s seat which has seen more entrants: Njeri Thorne and Karen Nyamu, bringing to five the number of candidates seeking to unseat the incumbent, Rachel Shebesh.

They, too, have expressed concern that the nomination process might not be fair.

“We need to have a rule where losing candidates will have to support the winners,” said Wangui Ng’ang’a, who is also eyeing the Woman Representative’s seat.

“Anything short of fair primaries will be a danger to democracy and other political parties will be the beneficiaries of popular candidates’ defections,” said Ms Nyamu.

The party’s leadership has downplayed the divisions, saying the nominations will be free and fair.

“Unless a losing aspirant will want to spoil for Jubilee and President Uhuru Kenyatta, they will not consider decamping,” said Starehe MP and the party's chair for Nairobi, Maina Kamanda.