The move by the Jubilee party to give President Uhuru Kenyatta powers to negotiate with other political parties indirectly gives him powers to influence Raila’s choice of running mate in the forthcoming August 9 presidential election.
In a press statement by Jubilee Secretary General Raphael Tuju, it was revealed that President Uhuru was mandated to lead the party in coalition negations with other like-minded parties.
“After a robust debate, it was resolved that President Uhuru Kenyatta will continue as the Jubilee party leader well into the future as a guarantor in our engagement with our political partners,” Tuju said in the statement.
The fact that Uhuru will be firmly involved in the Jubilee party matters, then his preference of a running mate cannot be underrated.
In fact, Jubilee Deputy Secretary-General Joshua Kutuny in an interview with The Saturday Nation said that the president will play a crucial role in choosing Raila’s running mate.
“The president underscored the need for the full support for the Azimio coalition. He mentioned something like Jubilee will have a big say in producing Raila’s running mate. Those are part of negotiations going on, but it is too early,” Kutuny said.
According to Raphael Tuju’s statement, the Jubilee party will not be fielding a presidential candidate in the forthcoming General Election.
It is highly expected that President Uhuru’s party will be unveiling its preferred choice for a running mate during its National Delegates Convention that will be held on February 25 and 26.
It could be this reason why the ODM party has also slated for the NDC on the same date as Jubilee’s, just as Jubilee vice-chairman David Murathe had said before that Jubilee and ODM will hold their Nation Delegates Conventions concurrently.
Speaking earlier on before President Uhuru chaired the Jubilee Parliamentary meeting, Kieni MP Kanini Kega confided to Daily Nation that whoever the party settles on us their flag bearer, will automatically become Raila’s number two.
“So, whoever we settle on as Jubilee flagbearer, with this set to be ratified in our NDC on February 25 and 26, 2022, will deputize Raila because the agreement is that the presidential candidate will be from ODM, with Jubilee providing the running mate,” Kega told The Nation.
Currently, the leading contenders to be Raila Odinga’s running mate include Peter Kenneth, Martha Karua, Nderitu Muriithi, and Peter Munya, all of who come from Mt Kenya but coincidentally are not members of the Jubilee party but are associated with Azimio la Umoja.
