• Kamau said he was victimised in the 2017 Jubilee party nominations and does not intend to put himself through a similar process.
• He said there are many parties that can give a direct nomination to choose from and he will be announcing his preferred one soon.
Image: Alice Waithera
Murang’a governor aspirant Jamleck Kamau has announced that he will not be participating in party nominations.
Kamau, who has not announced the party of his choice, said he has lost confidence in the ability of political parties to conduct free and fair nominations.
Citing the shambolic Jubilee Party nominations in 2017, Kamau said party leaders announcing that their outfits will conduct free nominations were the same ones that handed out certificates through the backdoor.
He said he was victimised in 2017 and does not intend to subject himself to a similar process where fairness is not guaranteed.
“I will not be going to any nominations myself. I am confident whichever side I take, I will clinch the position of governor's seat in Murang’a,” Kamau said. He said he was once bitten and is now shy.
He said he has not been in any talks with either UDA or Azimio La Umoja but he does not believe it when they say that the nominations process will be transparent.
He dismissed proposals by some political leaders that coalitions should conduct opinion polls to determine the most popular candidates in particular regions to be awarded nomination certificates, saying this will provide another loophole for parties to award their favourite aspirants.
Kamau said it is better to have consensus among aspirants to back one candidate.
He spoke during a free medical camp he had organised in Kangari, Kigumo, on Friday.
The aspirant said there are many parties that can give a direct nomination to choose from and he will be announcing his preferred one soon.
Image: Alice Waithera
He expressed confidence that his supporters will back him regardless of his political vehicle and that party politics will not influence the leaders who will be elected this year.
“This region has always voted in political suits, meaning they elect leaders-from the president to the MCA- from one party. This has changed because most of the people who voted in Jubilee Party in 2017 are unhappy with them,” Kamau said.
He urged voters to scrutinise all leaders before voting. He said voting for leaders simply because they are affiliated to certain parties is unproductive.
“We have talked to ‘Wanjiku’ and she is very clear in her mind that this time she will look at individuals and not political parties,” Kamau said.
In November last year, Registrar of Political Parties Ann Nderitu announced that those defeated in the party primaries will not have a window to vie as independent candidates.
Kamau is vying against Woman Representative Sabina Chege, a staunch Azimio La Umoja supporter, and former Water Principal Secretary Joseph Wairagu, who is yet to declare his party of choice.
Others include former Devolution Principal Secretary Irungu Nyakera, who is vying on The Farmers’ Party, former National Irrigation Authority chairman Joshua Toro, who has yet to reveal his party of choice, and Ahadi Kenya Trust boss Stanley Kamau, also yet to announce his party.
Early this month, Toro announced that he will not be participating in any party primaries to avoid being victimised.
“I have been a victim before, so I'm not prepared to undergo any other nominations. Whichever party I choose, I will ensure I'm on the ballot,” he said.
Toro said most aspirants are yet to decide on their parties of choice.
Toro, who served as Kandara MP from 1997 to 2007 and was the assistant minister for roads, said a leader does not need to be in a particular party to deliver.
Meanwhile, Kamau defended President Uhuru Kenyatta’s endorsement of ODM leader Raila Odinga as his preferred presidential candidate, saying it is his democratic right to do so.
He, however, noted that it is the voters who will make the final decision and urged Kenyans not to read too much into the endorsement.
“The President even has a right to campaign for his candidate of choice but I am sure what he would want to see is a free and fair process. As for me, I will make a decision on who to support and talk about it at the appropriate time,” Kamau said.
Edited by A.N