The widow of former Kiambaa MP Paul Koinange has been locked out of the upcoming by-election.
June Koinange, who intended to contest on a Jubilee ticket made a last-minute U-turn by defecting to Safina party.
However, her nomination papers under the Safina Party were not accepted by the electoral body Independent Election and Boundaries Commission IEBC, citing that she presented them late.
June’s ambitions to succeed her husband have now been quashed, despite her efforts to begin early campaigns in Kiambaa.
Other aspirants who were eyeing the Jubilee ticket are Josephat Kamanya, June, Lennah Koinange who is Koinange’s younger sister and Damaris Wambu.
The 5 were locked out of the contest after rigorous interviews by Jubilee party, which settled on Kariri Njama to fly its ticket.
He was the first runners up in the 2017 polls, after being defeated by the late Paul Koinange.
“We as Jubilee shall be keen to recapture the seat through among other things door to door campaign strategy and relying on locals as opposed to outsiders to lead the exercise,” said Njama after being granted the nomination certificate.
The commission has cleared 7 other candidates to contest for the parliamentary seat.
The Koinange’s had been torn apart after 10 members of the family expresssed interests in contesting for the Kiambaa seat.
After holding discussions, the family agreed to endorse June to vie on a Jubilee ticket.
Lena Koinage who is the daughter of the late powerful minister Mbiyu Koinange and her niece Damaris Wambui had declared interest in the coveted Jubilee Party ticket.
