Is Unity pact between Uhuru, Raila being used to kill democracy?

The handshake between President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM leaer Raila Odinga has been applauded heavily for the peace and unity it has been spearheading. However, some people seem not to have been favoured at all! Do you remember Raphael Tuju’s statement saying that Jubilee Party will not be fielding a candidate in the upcoming Embakasi South by-elections? An aspirant in the Embakasi South by-election and some MPs have protested the Party’s decision to pull out of the mini-polls.

Rashid Minyong’a, who planned to run on the ruling coalition ticket for the city parliamentary seat, yesterday said there was more than met the eye in Jubilee’s actions.

The decision by the ruling party has jostled some MPs allied to Deputy President William Ruto into saying the unity pact between President Kenyatta and Raila should not be used to kill democracy.

Mr Minyong’a has since moved to Kenya National Congress to face off with ODM’s Irshad Sumra and Julius Mawathe of Wiper Party.

Mr Mawathe’s win was nullified by the Supreme Court. Minyong’a alluded to a wider political scheme in denying him the ticket. He said it could be because of his perceived closeness to Dr Ruto.

“Last Wednesday I had a meeting with Jubilee Secretary General Raphael Tuju at the party’s headquarters and I told him they should consider giving me a direct ticket,” said Minyong’a.

“But I was surprised when he told me he had received instructions from above that the party is not fielding a candidate because of the handshake.”

Mr Tuju said the decision not to have candidates in Ugenya and Embakasi South was to prevent a political confrontation between Jubilee and the Opposition.

“We have made it clear that we want to foster unity and avoid unnecessary political confrontations,” said Tuju. He said the decision was arrived at after wide consultations within the ruling coalition.

“Why should we get into a contest that is going to polarise us? What do we gain by antagonising ODM and Wiper at a time we are enjoying their support in Parliament,” Tuju posed.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *