Jubilee civil war persists as members call for changes

Anthony Mwangi and Wangari Njuguna

Wrangles within Jubilee Party are far from over after a section of leaders maintained that leadership change must take place for it to reclaim its glory.

The defeat in last week’s Kiambaa by-election by the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) has triggered vicious internal wars within the party.

The leaders appeared to have slowed down on the attack on the leadership after the National Management Committee and a group of MPs met at the party headquarters to quell the simmering wrangles, but yesterday’s statements suggested that the position had not changed.

On Monday, the warring parties held a closed-door meeting and declared that they had resolved their differences, but going by the statements coming thereafter the situation is just starting.

But yesterday, Murang’a Women Representative Sabina Chege issued a terse statement asking the party to do a major clean-up on its leadership to help it regain stability.

“We need to clean up the house, weed out the bad elements and set things in order,” she said.

MPs loyal to the party have been calling for the removal of party chairman Nelson Ndurya, vice chairman David Murathe and the General Secretary Raphael Tuju.

Leading lights

Kieni MP Kanini Kega, one of the leading lights in the Jubilee campaigns in Kiambaa, kicked off the storm calling on the top officials to resign.

He went on to name deputy secretary Joshua Kutuny, acting Executive Director Wambui Gichuru and director of communication Albert Memusi as the only officials to be saved the chop.

“We have to make some painful and hard decisions as we move forward. If you are a Jubilee national official and your name is not in the list, kindly submit your letter of resignation immediately before we physically eject you from the headquarters,” Kanini wrote on social media on Saturday.

Another MP who asked not to be named said time has come for those in the leadership to go.

“What we are seeing now is nothing, what is awaiting us ahead is deadly, by the time the elections come next year the ruling party will be a shell with no members,” said the MP who did not want to be antagonizing the leadership.

Reckless statements

Chege said there are several leaders in the party who have been issuing reckless statements, which have not been going down well with the members.

“These people area liability to the party they have been tarnishing its image making people lose trust in it,” said Chege.

Chege said the party’s loss in the recently concluded Kiambaa by-election should be a wake-up call for the party leadership to do something about it.

Speaking in Murang’a, Chege however said blame game amongst the leaders will not solve any problem instead it will cause more chaos.

“We have some leaders who have been reckless in their talking, this has caused a lot of damage,” she said.

Chege however, castigated those who have been claiming that the jubilee party is dead daring them to shift to other political parties.

But party Joint party Parliamentary Group Secretary, Adan Keynan said there was no cause for alarm and that the party was intact ready to hit the road running.

“Our meeting on Monday discussed and settled all the emerging differences. Kenyans will now see a rejuvenated party,” Keynan said.

The Eldas MP had over the weekend issued a hard hitting statement calling President Uhuru to reconstitute his government to include loyalists and those committed to his party.

“Time has actually, come for none other than the President to act, and decisively so by shaking up his inner political circle,” Keynan wrote.  

He added: “This is actually the time to dissolve this government, and have the president vet afresh not just his advisors, but the technocrats who he has entrusted with the task of delivering on his legacy projects, of the Big Four and his succession game plan.”

The MP said in so doing, the President must settle for nothing less than loyalty and competence, and above all the appreciation of the strategic role politics and politicians play in actualization of policy decisions and dissemination of the same to the government’s main stakeholders who are the people. 

Keynan said the individuals the president picks after that shake-up must build synergy and a conducive environment between the party, the political class and the national executive, up to the presidency.