Uhuru launches Matiang'i bid, warns against divisive politics

Former President Uhuru Kenyatta kicked off his campaign of popularising his preferred presidential candidate, Fred Matiangi with a stinging attack on some Jubilee party officials whom he accused of planting seeds of division in the united opposition by insulting leaders.

The former president appeared displeased by insults directed to former former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and vowed to invoke his powers as the party leader, to kick out leaders who were disrespecting their peers  

Uhuru who held the first town hall meeting at Thika Greens after the party’s National Delegates Conference (NDC) on September 26 directed the party leadership to sell the party’s agenda and policies without engaging in insults towards other leaders within the United Opposition.

“It's good to defend our party but what angers me is when you do it by insulting others. Why are you abusing them? Why not popularize our agenda and policies without insults? To you SG (Secretary General) Kioni, I will tell you this, I don't want to see those things all the time I open the social media platforms, someone insulting Gachagua and others people in the name of Jubilee. I don't want that nonsense, we are not a party built on a foundation of insults,” Uhuru said.

The Jubilee party leader maintained that the leaders ought to respect each other and called on other leaders within the United Opposition to also allow members of the public to understand that they had a choice to belong to a party of their choice.

“We don’t want petty wrangles, because we must unite to become one, but even other leaders should know that people have a choice of their party. If I see anyone going one with such habits, I will not hesitate to remove them from the party positions.,” Uhuru said.

Uhuru’s remarks yesterday came a week after he led the National Executive Council (NEC) meeting at the Jubilee party headquarters and appointed former Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i as the party’s Deputy as well as endorsing him as the party’s Presidential flag bearer in 2027.

Uhuru expressed his commitment for a United Opposition even though NEC appointed Matiangi to be the party’s representative in the Opposition’s future meeting.

“The Jubilee Party formally communicated to the leadership of the United Opposition regarding the nomination of Dr. Fred Matiang’i as the official representative within the movement. The party reiterates its full commitment to the principles and objectives of the United Opposition, working collectively with like-minded political formations to build a strong, united, and people-centered alternative for Kenya,” the NEC noted in its resolutions.

But despite the Jubilee’s commitment to support the United Opposition led by Gachagua and Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka, neither has Matiangi or Kioni been attending the Opposition’s meetings.

Following a meeting held on November 3 at Kalonzo’s SKM command center attended by Gachagua, among other leaders who included Eugene Wamwalwa (DAP-K),  Matiangi and Kioni were absent triggering an online debate. The tiff  erupted between Gachagua and Jubilee supporters as they accused each other of playing hot and cold in the commitment to support the Opposition.

Some of the Jubilee leaders who have been hitting out at Gachagua include Kioni, former Nyeri Town MP Ngunjiri Wambugu and former Jubilee Nominated MCA and youth leader Wambui Njoki who at the same time has been supporting, Matiang'i’s Presidential bid.

They have been accusing Gachagua of having settled on Kalonzo’s Presidential bid with utter disregard to Matiang'i even as they maintained that the former CS was the only formidable candidate in the United Opposition.

In one of the online tiffs Njoki wrote ‘Now that you have all confirmed that Kalonzo is Gachagua’s presidential candidate, what is Matiangi supposed to achieve by being a member of United opposition with a predetermined presidential candidate?’

 Kioni who has been popularizing Matiangi’s Presidential bid has on numerous occasions accused Gachagua of dividing the Opposition from within and last month claimed that Gachagua was secretly working with President Ruto especially on the by elections slated for November 27.

 Kioni, in an interview with a local radio station last month claimed Gachagua met leaders in Narok County at an undisclosed date, where he tried to explain why the Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP) was denying Narok Town Ward aspirant Joshua Ole Kaputa a party ticket for the upcoming by-elections.

"And he was saying "by that time I will have 7 million votes from the mountain region, 1 million from Kalonzo and 800,000 from Matiang'i. I will now have more than half of the cake and I will share some of it with the Maasai community. So Joshua you should wait, we will nominate you. Gachagua told them that William Ruto had already sent emissaries to them and they had an arrangement to put their houses in order and then meet to have a discussion," Kioni alleged.

Yesterday, Uhuru emphasized on the importance of the party leadership to focus on its policies and ideologies saying he was mooting for Matiangi to complete the projects that his administration initiated.

“I’m endorsing Matiangi because I understand the work we have done together.  I’m not popularizing his candidacy not because of where he comes from, he has a long way of learning politics and you will guide him if you want people of his caliber. We don’t want people with empty rhetoric who will be giving us stories, we want people who pledge and deliver,” he said.

 “When Kenyans gave us the mandate of leading the country in 2013, we used two and half years to complete the projects that were started by my predecessor Mwai Kibaki and I hoped that the projects that my administration started would be completed by this administration but I’m supporting Matiangi to come and move on from where we left, he is a workaholic and a performer,” Uhuru said.

He announced that the Jubilee party would conduct grassroots elections next year in an exercise that will see the party get its leaders including the party leader even as he apologized to the members due to what he termed as shambolic nominations in the 2022 general elections.

“We did not do justice during our party primaries, people sat in hotels in Nairobi and awarded certificates to their preferred candidates, as I admit that we erred, I would assure members that the elections will end at the grassroots, I will not even impose Matiangi  on you,” he said.

He urged the youth to continue agitating for better governance and keeping the government on toes while urging the party leadership to open the doors to the youth to seek elective positions.

“Youth should not fear leaders despite their stature, they must stand up and say no to injustice, just because the leaders have money and a big car, you should not fear them you must demand for what is right, there is no other way other than taking the government power upon you, from MCA all the way to the President,” Uhuru said.