Nyandarua leaders move to avert fallout in Jubilee Party

With divisions and various groups emerging to assume the leadership of the newly formed Jubilee Party (JP), elected leaders in Nyandarua County have united to avert a looming storm over the running of the party.

This comes barely two days after a meeting convened in Kipipiri by a group purporting to conduct elections of party officials ended in chaos when two rival groups clashed.

The elected leaders have resolved to incorporate all aspiring candidates in the party in its affairs to avoid possible fallout.

The leaders, led by Governor Daniel Waithaka, Ndaragwa MP Francis Waweru Ndiritu, his Kipipiri counterpart Samuel Gichigi, County Speaker Ndegwa Wahome and all MCAs met in Ol Kalou town on Wednesday where they decided to form a twenty-member team to run the affairs of the party, including establishing strategies to popularize it ahead of the 2017 General Election.

All the parties that dissolved to join the Jubilee Party will be represented in the steering committee.

Governor Daniel Waithaka announced that they had moved in to avoid such incidents, which would portray the party in bad light.

He regretted that the chaos took place just two weeks after President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Deputy William Ruto launched the party, adding that they were moving to reassure residents and party supporters from the region that all will be well.

Waithaka noted that all the aspiring candidates would be invited to present names of people they wanted to run the party before elections were conducted.

While giving the resolutions of the meeting, Nyandarua County Speaker Ndegwa Wahome, who was also the former Secretary of TNA in the county, said that former officials of TNA and friendly parties would be enjoined in the running of the new party since it was the dominant party in the region in the last elections.

This he said is in an effort to make Nyandarua the best run and well managed branch whose results will also be reflected at the polls.

On their part, Waweru and Gichigi assured aspiring candidates that the nomination exercise would be free and fair, and asked them to join hands and popularize the party in the region promising that they would also be involved in the day-to-day affairs of the party.