Nairobi Jubilee MCAs endorse McDonald Mariga for Kibra

Nairobi Jubilee Party MCAs have endorsed McDonald Mariga’s candidature in the Kibra by-election to be held on November 7.

Led by Majority leader Abdi Guyo, the ward reps have pledged to conduct door-to-door campaigns for Mariga to ensure he wins the seat.

“Our party leaders inclusive of the President and his deputy are in support [of Mariga] and as MCAs we agree with them,” Guyo said yesterday.

The development comes a week after President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto assured Mariga of their full backing. 

The Kibra seat fell vacant following the death of Ken Okoth who succumbed to colorectal cancer on July 26.

Guyo said that Mariga, a youth, was the best fit for the Kibra seat because he will directly relate to and solve the problems in the subcounty.

He said Mariga understands the problems in the area and has the backing of the party in implementing his manifesto.

The MCAs said that the by-election was a political process and Jubilee fielding a candidate in Kibra did not mean they were going against the handshake. 

“We are in full support of the handshake. But we will focus on campaigns to get the residents of Kibra behind us,” Guyo said.

The Matopeni MCA said that the party is not bothered by the cliche that Kibra is ODM's playground.  

The ward reps hit out at embattled Nairobi speaker Beatrice Elachi over her remarks that Mariga cannot fit into the shoes of the late Ken Okoth.

While speaking at Citizen TV on Tuesday last week, Elachi denounced Mariga’s candidature saying he was not the right person for Kibra. 

"For anyone going to Kibra, they must set the bar high just like Ken Okoth. I am sorry, but Mariga cannot continue Okoth’s legacy,” Elachi said.

The MCAs told Elachi to keep off party politics and concentrate on sorting out her political issues at the assembly.

“Elachi herself is complaining about values yet looking at her immediate past at the county assembly, she does not possess the same leadership values she accuses Mariga of lacking,” they said.

The front runners for the poll are ODM's Imran Okoth, Mariga and ANC's Eliud Owalo.

According to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, 23 candidates have been cleared to vie for the Kibra by-elections. Seven are independent candidates.