- Senior party officials who requested not be quoted due to sensitivity of the issue said talks are still ongoing before Igathe is officially unveiled.
- During the Jubilee primaries in April 2017, State House ‘fished’ Igathe from Vivo.
Image: File
Former Nairobi deputy governor Polycarp Igathe is making a quiet comeback into city politics, now seeking to become the next county chief.
Sources have confirmed to the Star that Igathe is in the governor race and will be seeking to run on the Jubilee Party ticket.
Senior Jubilee officials, who requested not be quoted, said talks are still ongoing before Igathe is officially unveiled.
“Igathe is in the Nairobi governor race and is among the few aspirants who have paid the nomination fees and submitted all the necessary requirements,” a party official said.
His return brings in more ‘complications’ for other Jubilee aspirants who have also been cleared ahead of the nominations.
Other aspirants include Nairobi Governor Ann Kananu, businesswoman Agnes Kagure and Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Richard Ngatia.
Before joining politics, Igathe had an impressive career in the corporate world, serving as the managing director at Vivo Energy Kenya as well as Haco Industries for 10 years.
Igathe was also the chairman of the Kenya Association of Manufacturers and a director at the Kenya Private Sector Alliance, the apex lobby of the private sector in Kenya.
During the Jubilee primaries in April 2017, State House ‘fished’ Igathe from Vivo.
The move was said to be necessary to moderate having the flamboyant Mike Sonko as governor and a deputy who was well versed with corporate management.
However, a few months into office , Igathe and Sonko fell out.
On January 31, 2018, Igathe resigned barely six months after assuming office citing failure to earn the trust of his boss.
“Dear Nairobians, it is with a heavy heart that I resign as the deputy governor of Nairobi effective 1 pm on Jan 31, 2018. I regret that I have failed to earn the trust of the governor to enable me to drive administration and management of the county,” he said.
Last year, while eulogising Capital FM boss Chris Kirubi, Igathe disclosed that it was Kirubi who lured him into politics to become Sonko’s running mate.
He said Kirubi had designed the Sonko-Igathe gubernatorial ticket as part of a greater scheme to make the capital more business friendly.
Jubilee started their nominations today and they will run until Thursday.
Party's secretary general Jeremiah Kioni had earlier said they were encouraging aspirants to opt for consensus to avoid nominations drama
He, however, said the party will issue direct tickets to aspirants who are stand unopposed in the their area.
Kioni emphasised they will not issue tickets based on popularity of an aspirant but will be open to use other parameters to pick candidates.
Jubilee also said it is open to zoning within the Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya Alliance to ensure the coalition wins majority of the seats.
(Edited by Tabnacha O)