Former footballer McDonald Mariga has urged Kibra residents to vote for Jubilee in the by-election to free themselves from the "bondage of the opposition".
The Jubilee candidate said the time was ripe for the people of Kibra to join the government to realise real transformation and development.
“Kibra has been in the opposition for too long. It is time for people of Kibra to try the government to see the development that will come to them,” Mariga said on Sunday after the service at Lindi Central PAG church.
In a thinly veiled attack on the rival ODM party, Mariga told reporters outside the church that the residents are still grappling with poor sanitation, lack of water and lack of jobs because they have not been in government for decades.
The constituency has been under the leadership of the opposition since the early 1990s. ODM leader Raila Odinga served as MP for the larger Kibra and Lang'ata for more than 20 years.
MP Ken Okoth took over from him in 2013 when the new Constitution barred Raila from contesting the seat as he was vying for President.
Okoth, who was elected on ODM ticket, died on July 26 of cancer, triggering the by-election scheduled on November 7.
Mariga faces ODM’s Imran Okoth — the MP’s brother, ANC’s Eliud Owalo, Ford Kenya’s Khamisi Butichi and 16 other candidates.
“I have not said I am the best. It is for the people of Kibra to choose. We are talking to them. We want them to be in government to see the changes,” Mariga said≥
The former Harambee Stars, Parma and Inter Milan player said he has a progressive manifesto and has developed clear plans to transform Kibra and change residents' lives.
Mariga said if elected, he will continue with Okoth's legacy in education, fix drainage system and empower women and youth.
“We have a good manifesto. We have everything and we are talking to people. Education must continue the way the late Okoth was doing. Sports must also continue. We will put in place many things,” he told the Star after attending
Mariga, whose nomination to fly Jubilee flag has split the giant ruling party down the middle, was accompanied by Chapia Chapia, a man he defeated in interviews by the party’s National Elections Board. Sixteen aspirants had expressed interest in the seat.
The Kieleweke fraction of the party led by nominated MP Maina Kamanda has thrown its weight behind ODM’s Imran. They claim Mariga has been fronted by Deputy President William Ruto to fight the handshake and destabilise peace and tranquility in the city.
On Sunday, Owalo was at Lindi PAG church where he promoted his manifesto. In a direct attack on Imran, Owalo, a former Raila campaign manager, promised to reconstitute the Kibra CDF board to mirror all communities living in Kibra.
Imran was the CDF manager during his brother’s tenure as an MP. “Why should you bring in your wife and brother? It is the people of Kibra who should sit on the board, not relatives," he said.
“We will establish employment centres, seek partnerships to bring in fire engines and fix drainage that has been a perennial problem."
Edited by R.Wamochie
