Kenyan joins race for MP seat in Britain
A Kenyan will be in the race for a parliamentary seat in the UK when the Britons go to the polls next month.
Independent candidate Daniel Munyambu is seeking to enter the British House of Commons as the representative for Thurrock constituency.
The constituency is represented by Ms Jackie Doyle-Price of the Conservative Party.
The seat has attracted seven candidates in the elections scheduled for May 7.
The contestants include Mr Timür Mark Aker, the current member of the European Parliament for the East of England, Mr Jamie Barnes, who is running on Cannabis is Safer than Alcohol movement, former BBC journalist and Labour Party candidate Polly Billington who claims to be “fed up witnessing injustice and wanted to be the person to get things done”.
Others are Mr Rhodri Iain Jamieson-Ball (Liberal Democrat) and University of Essex lecturer Kristilolu Aba of All People’s Party.
However, Mr Munyambu’s candidature faces challenges. In 2012, when he returned to Kenya, he fled after being granted bail for charges related to defrauding a client in a car import deal.
On Wednesday, he told the Daily Nation the charges were politically motivated.
RECORD ON FRAUD
“It was a well-planned set up to stop me from climbing the political ladder,” he said.
He therefore has to banish his past record on fraud. He was a Labour Party activist before he was suspended by the party after the fraud charges came to light.
He will also have to win over voters from re-electing Ms Doyle-Price who says on her party website that she is a local girl who was “was raised on a council estate.”
“If you re-elect me, I’ll continue to fight for you, your family and all hardworking people across Thurrock,” Ms Doyle-price says, listing a number of her achievements.
Mr Munyambu, who once harboured presidential ambitions in Kenya, believes he has what it takes to beat his six rivals.
“All voters deserve the right to have a say in the running of the country and opportunity to define their destiny,” he says in his brief manifesto.
Mr Munyambu says his aim is to make a difference in people’s lives wherever he goes.
PRESIDENTIAL AMBITION
He, however, still harbours ambitions of becoming president of Kenya.
“I have observed over a long period of time the needs, dreams and aspirations of the Kenyan society are far from being met; that’s the basis of going for the top seat. As everybody can see, Kenya is heading in the wrong direction and new credible leadership is long overdue,” he said.
Mr Munyambu went to the UK in early 2007 to join his wife. In 2011, he was elected councillor in Basildon, garnering 52 per cent of votes cast.
His manifesto says he will tackle issues such as unemployment, better schools, and health and housing problems in his locality, where he says he will help in “mobilising both public and private housing stock.”
“I will lobby the government to fund the development of more affordable housing in the local area. Developers and Thurrock Council should work together to meet and exceed targets for the building of social housing to ensure more residents are able to have their needs met.”
He continues: “I will encourage both public and private employers to increase output, leading to a greater need to employ more staff.”
He also wants to lobby for the UK to bring a referendum on whether it should stay in the EU earlier to 2016.