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Bahati cries foul after losing Mathare nomination bid


Gospel singer Kelvin Kioko alias Bahati is crying foul after he was reportedly denied the Jubilee party ticket to contest for the Mathare parliamentary seat.

Bahati, while addressing the media in Nairobi on Monday, termed the move by President Uhuru Kenyatta’s party as ‘not fair’.

The Adhiambo hitmaker claims the political outfit’s management changed their mind on fielding a candidate in Mathare so as to support the incumbent who is contesting on an Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) ticket.

ODM and Jubilee have an arrangement to jointly field candidates in Nairobi and other parts of the country.

“I respect President Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga. I understand there is zoning and Mathare is considered an ODM area. But I beg that they please hand the youth a chance. Give the people of Mathare a chance to elect a leader they wanted.”

Bahati, who’s severally entertained President Kenyatta and recently released a hit track featuring Odinga, had already been handed the Jubilee ticket.  Hee now claims the document has been recalled even as he campaigned in a bid to capture the seat in the August 2022 polls.

“I want to thank my party leader President Kenyatta for giving me an opportunity to vie on a Jubilee ticket. I don’t know how to celebrate this. It is a dream come true. I grew up in Mathare and for once the people in this area have a chance to elect one of their own,” he explained at the time.

Bahati is the second musician, after Starehe lawmaker Charles Njagua alias Jaguar, to allege foul play in the party primaries.

Jaguar last week claimed Deputy President William Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party had unfairly handed Simon Mbugua the nomination certificate.