UDA primaries: Jungle fumes after losing to Wamatangi, vows to run as independent candidate
Thika Town MP Patrick Wainaina 'Jungle' has dismissed the just concluded United Democratic Alliance party primaries as a sham and vowed to vie as an independent candidate.
Speaking to journalists after provisional results showed he was trailing behind his main challenger Senator Kimani Wamatangi by more than 11,000 votes, Wainaina accused the nomination organizers of hatching a plot to rig him out by having his popular name 'Jungle' missing in the ballot papers.
"I believed the process would be free and fair but I sensed trouble when the ballots came out with a distorted picture of me, minus the name Jungle for which I am known by all. I thought UDA was different from other parties and they would deliver a credible nomination but this is not the case," the legislator said.
Addressing a press conference at the Kiambu Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) county tallying centre, the aspirant said he would now be offering his candidature as an independent contestant for the August 9 election.
"I want to assure my supporters and the people of Kiambu in general that my name will be on the ballot. My record speaks for itself in matters development and service delivery," Wainaina stated.
In the race to clinch the UDA certificate for the Kiambu governorship candidate, the first-term MP was facing Wamatangi and former governor Ferdinand Waititu Baba Yao. Initial results had given the Senator a lead of over 68,000 votes followed by Wainaina with more than 57,000 votes and Waititu a distant third with slightly above 8,000 votes.
Noting that this is the second time he was rigged out of party nominations, the MP said he is now wiser and vowed not to let down his supporters by bowing out of the contest.
"Once bitten, twice shy. I was rigged out of the Jubilee nominations in 2017 despite having won and this becomes the second time, but I want to assure the people of Kiambu I am not quitting," he added.
Wainaina claimed there were other glaring anomalies in the process including the appointment of polling officials aligned to his opponents and his agents being barred from accessing some polling centres.
However, he said despite all these, he would not file a petition and instead, he will pursue the independent candidate window.
He also pointed out that he had no beef with the UDA party hierarchy and will still be friends with its leader Deputy President William Ruto.
If he vies independently, Wainaina will be expected to face off with the incumbent Governor James Nyoro of Jubilee, former Governor, William Kabogo of Tujibebe Wakenya Party, Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria who is the leader of Chama Cha Kazi and Wamatangi.
Others in the governorship race include former Kiambu Woman Rep Ann Nyokabi Gatheca who is also seeking the Jubilee ticket, Dr Juliet Kimemia of KANU, Mwende Gatabaki who is said to be independent and Grace Mbugua, who is also independent.
