JAP officials claim were locked out of State House meeting

A section of Jubilee Alliance Party (JAP) members in Mombasa were allegedly denied access to a meeting convened by President Uhuru Kenyatta at State House, Mombasa on Wednesday.

Though it is not yet clear why they were allegedly locked out, it is reported that the names of the delegates were missing from a list submitted to State House despite receiving invites.

Reports indicate that President Kenyatta had convened the meeting to discuss on ways of popularizing the party in the coastal town ahead of the 2017 General Elections.

Addressing the press, the members led by Mombasa County JAP chairman Ali Mwatsahu claimed that they were shocked to see opposition coalition CORD members being sneaked into State House at their expense.

“We were invited to State House for a meeting with President Kenyatta but on reaching there, we found our names missing and those of ODM and Wiper defectors on the list,” he said.

He claimed that Mining Cabinet Secretary Najib Balala, former Changamwe MP Ramadhan Kajembe and 2013 gubernatorial aspirant Suleiman Shahbal selected their followers to meet the president leaving the other members stranded outside.

Mwatsahau said that the party risks losing its popularity should former CORD politicians continue hijacking party affairs.

“I urge President Kenyatta to try and look into the matter because political have changed from analogue to digital.”

The claims come as President Kenyatta announced his interest to run for the 2017 elections on a Jubilee Alliance Party (JAP).

He called on all affiliates under the Jubilee Alliance to dissolve their parties and join JAP in preparation for the next elections.

President Kenyatta was speaking on Wednesday when he met 300 Jubilee delegates from Mombasa.

Report by Patrick Kanga