Former Jubilee Vice Chairman David Murathe on Saturday denounced Kibra MP hopeful MacDonald Mariga, saying he is being forced on the Jubilee party by Deputy William Ruto.
Murathe, speaking at a wedding on Mombasa, said the retired football star is not the preferred Jubilee candidate.
“I hear others have even sponsored candidates in Kibra. But I can tell you for free, that is not a Jubilee candidate. That is a candidate of William Samoei Ruto,” said Murathe.
He spoke at Kilua Resort, where businessman-cum-politician Suleiman Shahbal married off his adopted Christian daughter, Martha Koki, to his Chief of Staff Martin Kariuki in a colourful wedding that was attended by guests including Serbian ambassador to Kenya Dragan Zupanjevac.
DP Ruto has been campaigning for Mariga, who he hopes he could beat ODM’s Imran Okoth in the November 7 by-election.
Murathe, a close ally of President Uhuru Kenyatta, resigned from his Jubilee post in January citing a poor relationship with Ruto.
His resignation came a day after he declared an all-out political war with Ruto, who he said is not eligible to run for presidency in 2022.
He argued that his fate is intertwined with that of Uhuru and went to seek an advisory from the Supreme Court.
On Saturday, he reiterated that he could not work with Ruto because of different ideologies but added that he can still contribute to Jubilee from the outside.
“It was no longer tenable to sit with some of those characters in the National Executive Committee. But that is not to say we just won’t also contribute,” Murathe said.
The former Gatanga MP said he is fully behind the Handshake and wants Uhuru to achieve his desired goals for the country’s economic and social development.
“We are in the Handshake and want to unite Kenyans,” said Murathe.
He said President Uhuru’s legacy would be to leave Kenya a united country.
