UDA officials urged to resolve Murang'a nomination squabbles

@Alicewangechi

Gatanga MP Edward Muriu wants the leadership of the UDA party to resolve issues surrounding nomination of MCAs in Murang’a county.

Muriu who is the party’s legal advisor said his constituency and Kangema constituency did not get any nomination slot despite the county getting 12 nominations.

This, he said, is despite an agreement by all local elected leaders that each of them would get at least one nomination slot.

He said they agreed to ensure those who stood with the party were awarded for their loyalty.

They then drew a list, which was forwarded to IEBC but in the final list, their nominees had been struck out.

Muriu has said his constituency helped register more than 60,000 party members during campaigns and contributed greatly to the success of the party in the county.

The party scooped all seven MP seats together with the governor, senator and woman representative positions.

But the MP said that party coordinators who laboured to popularise the party at a time when supporters were being persecuted have been left out.

"As a founding member, we sat with President William Ruto and his deputy Rigathi Gachagua and agreed to establish a party that would last a long time such as ANC, more than 100 years, or the communist party of China that has been in existence for more than 300 years," he said.

Because each election year, parties keep failing and new ones come up as a result of wrangles and infighting.

“Our party cannot be long lasting if it faces the issues that faced Jubilee party. We have to do things differently. That is why I am asking the party leadership to take action,” Muriu said.

Gatanga has the largest minority community as it is inhabited by Kamba community in Ithanga Kakuzi subcounty. They have never missed a nomination slot.

A group of the party’s supporters and coordinators resorted to filing a suit seeking to have the nominations reviewed.

But the MPs said it is unfortunate that the people who diligently supported the party had to use their own resources to fight for what had been pledged to them.

“A mistake is only a mistake once it is repeated. As Gatanga people, we feel undermined and discriminated,” he said.

As the party readies for by-election in the neighboring Kandara and other constituencies whose MPs were appointed for government jobs, Muriu said his constituents are no longer ready to sacrifice on behalf of the party as they feel slighted.

He said the party’s secretary general and director of elections contributed to the altering of the original list that left some constituencies bare while others have numerous slots.

The MP further urged new Water Cabinet Secretary Alice Wahome to ensure all homesteads in the constituency are connected to the commodity.

He said water is a human right and that it is wrong that Ndaka-ini dam that was constructed 30 years ago supplies water to Nairobi as residents are left without.

“It is a historical injustice that residents fetch water from rivers as their water is channeled to Nairobi,” the MP said.

He also urged Wahome to complete the Sh2.4 billion Ithanga Mitumbiri water project that is meant to supply both irrigation and domestic water to residents.