Former Kirinyaga Senator Daniel Karaba leads politicians in decamping to Jubilee
The Former Kirinyaga County Senator Daniel Karaba has ditched The Service Party, TSP under the leadership of Mwangi Kiunjuri for the ruling Jubilee party.
The former lawmaker is among 50 other politicians, who have decamped from the Kenya Kwanza political outfit and vowed to support President Uhuru Kenyatta's party, a move overseen by Interior Permanent Secretary Karanja Kibicho.
Most of the politicians who defected to Jubilee party have been UDA party coordinators from various parts of Kirinyaga county.
"I saw a section of my former party leaders at the UDA's NDC in Nairobi, an event where the president was abused and that is the main reason I have left TSP," Karaba said.
He further dismissed claims that some leaders supporting the Kenya Kwanza political outfit are being coerced to ditch parties affiliated to Deputy President's party.
"There is no intimidation. So When you feel that you are not comfortable in one house you shift from that house to another one. And that is what I have done. I did not want to decamp to UDA and witness them abusing the president, so I had to defect to Jubilee party, " Karaba told the media.
PS Kibicho also disputed the claims that he has been intimidating local leaders in a bid to 'force' them out of other parties.
"As government officers, we won't be gagged via such claims and we are going to provide civic education to our people ahead of the August 9 polls," he said.
He added that freedom of expression is guaranteed in the constitution.
"As long as you have not broken any law, the freedom of expression is guaranteed. And everyone is free to join any party they wish to join and support," he said.
He also said that the Kenya Kwanza brigade has been hit hard by the current wave of defections thus resulting in giving flimsy excuses and accusing government officials of intimidation.
"They have been carrying out campaigns alone all along and that is why they are saying that Kibicho is intimidating them. Can I be able to intimidate all Kenyans because they are decamping UDA? They are the ones intimidating the ones defecting in the Kamba areas? And we also have defections in other places like Meru," the PS noted.
