No, Mariga is not a Jubilee candidate in Kibera by-election, party clarifies
Jubilee party’s secretary-general Raphael Tuju has dismissed as ‘fake’ a letter bearing his signature, which indicates that former Kenyan international midfielder McDonald Mariga is among the party’s candidates in the forthcoming Kibra by-elections.
“Some busy body somewhere is trying to do something I don’t understand. I will investigate,” Tuju told Nairobi News.
Dated August 26, 2019, and addressed to the chairman of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, the letter lists Mariga among four other ‘aspirants’ for the party’s candidature in the by-election which is slated for November 7, 2019.
Others listed alongside Mariga are Morris Peter Kinyanjui, Walter Trenk Mukinyingi, Said Ibrahim and Doreen Nangame Khyange Wasike.
Mariga, who won the Italian league and the UEFA Champions League titles with Inter Milan in 2011, was unavailable for comment.
Interestingly, this letter found its way into the public domain hours after Tuju confirmed that Jubilee will field a candidate in Kibra.
In a statement issued on Monday, Tuju said the party consulted within the party leadership and arrived at the decision of fielding an aspirant.
“We would like to tell party members that Jubilee party will be fielding a candidate in the forthcoming Kibra Constituency by-election on November 7, 2019,” Tuju said.
Tuju said that their analysis and consultations confirm that Jubilee Party is competitive enough in the forthcoming by election.
“It is noteworthy that the neighboring Lang’ata constituency was won by a Jubilee candidate contrary to conventional political analysis. We are therefore giving notice to our members who are interested in contesting the seat on a Jubilee party ticket to forward their applications to National elections board,” Tuju said.
The Kibra parliamentary seat fell vacant following the demise of Ken Okoth late in July.
Additional reporting by Amina Wako