Peter Kenneth resigns as KNC party leader

Former Gatanga MP Peter Kenneth has resigned as Kenya National Congress (KNC) leader as reports of an imminent move to Jubilee emerge.

In a letter to the Registrar of Political Parties on Tuesday, November 8, 2016, Kenneth said he resigned from membership of KNC requesting that his name be struck off the party’s register.

Kenneth, who came forth in the 2013 presidential elections, has expressed interest in vying for a governorship seat in a yet-to-be-named county.

Jubilee legislators, among them Kieni MP Kanini Kega, had welcomed Kenneth’s pronouncement that he would support President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2017, calling on him to dissolve his party and join Jubilee.

On Sunday, Kenneth reportedly said he could not disband KNC since he did not own the party, though stating that he had ditched the party for Jubilee.

Kenneth has left many guessing after he said that he was pondering over which county to vie in, having received endorsements from residents of Nakuru, Murang’a and Nairobi counties.

Political pundits have, however, moved to demystify the mystery of Kenneth’s candidature, saying he would likely run in Nairobi and use it as a grooming ground in preparation for the 2022 presidential election.

Kenneth has, however, denied claims that he would rival Ruto in 2022, saying he would fully back the deputy president’s candidature in the polls.

The former MP’s perceptible interest in the Nairobi governorship race has caused jitters within Jubilee’s Nairobi governorship aspirants prompting a meeting with the party MCAs to prevent possible fallout over the aspirations.

In a meeting held on Monday, the team called on Nairobi Senator Mike Sonko, nominated MP Johnson Sakaja, Dagoretti South MP Dennis Waweru and Bishop Margaret Wanjiru – all who have declared interest in the seat – to agree on who will be the candidate and who will be the running mate.