Kirinyaga UDA aspirants decry exclusion from party activities

A group of UDA aspirants from Kirinyaga county are urging Deputy President William Ruto to ensure a level playing field in the party for all those vying.

Their plea comes as they accused county elected leaders affiliated to the party of sidelining them in planning and executing UDA related activities in the county.

Led by their chairman Njogu Barua, the 48-member team said the party popularisation agenda should not be a preserve of a few elected leaders as the contribution of aspirants is equally vital in propelling the party to prominence and consequently DP Ruto to the presidency.

The group in addition said their lack of being involved by the elected leaders conspicuously displays leadership vacuum, which is risky particularly currently when there requires to be unity and  sound political guidance, as the party gears for the nominations.

Speaking on Friday in Sagana, Barua said the members unanimously agreed to give an opportunity to the elected leaders  to convene a meeting.

The meeting will seek to address how the party activities will be conducted in the wake of deadlines that are required to be observed and which pertains registration of party members and nomination of polling stations and county party coordinators.

“There has been no clear political leadership in the county apart from the few forums that have been conducted by a few elected leaders and which we have never been engaged in," Barua said.

"This is inclusive of DP Ruto’s latest county visit which we all wished to participate in planning. Moving forward, we want united party leadership meetings so that we can strengthen the outfit and help market Ruto's presidential bid.”

As the party prepares to conduct the nominations, Barua also urged all candidates eyeing various elective positions to be treated as aspirants and refrain from preferential treatment as the ball will in a few weeks time be returned to the people’s court to decide their fate. 

In addition, the former Gichugu MP dispelled rumours that the party has already handed express nomination tickets to some individuals as the party’s flagbearers in various elective positions.

He said the aspirants trust Ruto's assurance in the exercise being conducted in a free and fair manner.

“All aspirants including the deputy president will have to undergo nomination, as such, we are not subscribing to rumours that there are individuals who have nomination certificates. The DP has assured us  that the upcoming nominations will be credible and we have taken his word for it.”

Sandra Njoki, the group’s co-chair said as the majority, the non-elected aspirants will not sit and watch a handful of people solely undertake the party activities across the county without involving them.

He said this would create divisions and wrangles which would eventually ruin the party’s reputation and victory in the county.

In addition, he called on the DP to convene a sitting with all county non-elected aspirants to give them a platform to express themselves.

She also expressed the need for the county to have a party office where all contenders will be assisted should need arise, instead of travelling all the way to Nairobi. In addition, she said the office will be key in increasing the county membership for the party.

“We wouldn’t mind organising a meeting for Ruto right here in the county so that we can express our wishes as well as give him the opportunity to acknowledge the residents and appreciate their loyalty,” she said.

Njoki who is eyeing the county Woman Rep seat also called on the UDA legal team to pursue the office of the Registrar of Political Parties to streamline the members' details to enable them to participate in the nominations.

She lamented that despite having registered as a UDA member, the ORRP had listed her as a member of a different political party.

“It saddens me that I was not the only victim who raised an alarm. For this reason, we want to appeal to the UDA legal team to pick up this matter so that we can be able to know whether it's an error or it’s being done deliberately.”

Muteti Murimi, another aspirant, echoed similar sentiments and urged the county elected leaders to integrate all party aspirants in their forums as they will eventually be candidates seeking re-election through the party.