Ruto-linked UDA Avoids “Direct” Contest With Uhuru’s Jubilee in Juja By-election
The United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party associated with Deputy President William Ruto has officially pulled out of the Juja Parliamentary by-election scheduled for May 18, avoiding a direct battle with President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Jubilee party.
UDA Secretary-General Veronica Maina confirmed on Monday that the party had resolved to shelve plans to field a candidate in the mini-poll occasioned by the death of Francis Munyua Waititu ‘Wakapee.’
“We are officially out of the race. That means we will not be fielding any candidate,” Maina confirmed without giving reasons for the decision.
This writer understands that a number of hopefuls had expressed interest in vying for the seat on the party ticket and had already started lobbying ahead of party primaries.Sources in the know claim that the party withdrew from the race to avoid a contest with President Kenyatta, who enjoys a huge following in the region.
The move to withdraw from the race now paves way for a two-horse race between Jubilee and Gatundu South MP’s People’s Empowerment Party (PEP)
While the ruling party is set to conduct primaries to pick a candidate to fly its flag in the mini-poll, Kuria’s party has already settled on politician and businessman George Koimburi, who came second in the 2017 Juja Constituency election.
