Mass exodus looms in Uhuru's Jubilee

President Uhuru Kenyatta's once behemoth Jubilee machine is staring at mass exodus that could whittle down his grip of the Mt Kenya backyard.

Key party stalwarts who vied on the Jubilee Party in Uhuru's turf have signalled backing off the ruling outfit, threatening to vanquish its 2022 prospects.

Meru Governor Kiraitu Murungi is one of the latest Jubilee bigwigs from Uhuru's bastion who have hinted at ditching Jubilee ahead of next year.

“As things are now, the Deputy President is on his own with the United Democratic Alliance party, and the President is about to retire. Since I am not retiring, I need a horse to take part in the race,” Murungi said on Wednesday.

Murungi and Jubilee Meru branch secretary general Alhaji Mwendia cited betrayal, lack of financial accountability and manoeuvres to sideline regions perceived to back DP William Ruto.

Murungi said while the Jubilee Party was founded on the vision of a united nation, the dream collapsed along the way.

Jubilee leaders from Mt Kenya East are said to be seeking a common political vehicle to push for their interests next year, complicating Jubilee' influence.

Worse still, fringe parties are positioning themselves to share the spoils amid signals of a terrible anti-climax for the Pangani-based party.

Several parties have been formed in Mt Kenya region while others are being revamped in what might pose a new headache for Jubilee's survival.

There are fears that the decline of Jubilee could leave crucial members and aspirants eyeing various political seats switch to other rival parties in a massive haemorrhage in the ruling outfit.

Fresh power games have already erupted in the battle for control of the Jubilee Party, threatening to sink the outfit ahead of the 2022 polls.

There is a renewed push for a major overhaul of the party's leadership to steady the ship and salvage its fortunes ahead of next year's general election.

There are also protestations that top civil servants have hijacked critical party activities that has seen Jubilee lose recent by-elections.

National Assembly deputy Majority Whip Maoka Maore denied that Jubilee was facing imminent death saying plans are underway to revamp the party.

"We are going  to reinvigorate the party. There is no cause for alarm," Maore said.

Jubilee, however, appears to be digging its grave.

For instance, Gatundu South Moses Kuria's People's Empowerment Party and former Agriculture CS Mwangi Kiunjuri's  The Service Party are threatening to spoil the party for Uhuru.

The PEP party associated with Ruto's Tangatanga wing has won decisive victories in recent by-elections including Juja parliamentary seat in Uhuru's Kiambu backyard.

The party has also partnered with the UDA linked to Ruto to turn tables on Jubilee in the July 15 Kimbaa by-election.

On the other hand Kiunjuri has already bagged at least two former governors and ex-MPs who were allies of Uhuru in Mt Kenya.

The party associated with the DP's 2022 political plans is flexing its muscles in control of a region initially dominated by the President's JubileeParty.

On Wednesday, Kiunjuri paraded immediate former governors, members of National Assembly, Senate and county assembly in a show of might as he readies for a pie of Mt Kenya.

Former Kirinyaga governor Samuel Ndathi, his former Tharaka Nithi counterpart Samuel Ragwa and former Kirinyaga senator Daniel Karaba are some of the big names that have joined Kiunjuri.

Others in the team include former MPs Njogu Barua (Gichugu), Joseph M'eruaki M'uthari (Igembe North) John Kihaki (Naivasha) and another former MP from a constituency in Nakuru county.

Ndathi will be using the TSP ticket to make a come back as he seeks to unseat Governor Anne Waiguru.

Ragwa on the other hand has announced that he will be seeking to fly the TSP party in his quest to be the senator of Tharaka Nithi.

Kiunjuri said there are several members of National Assembly, Senate as well as a number of governors, especially from Mt Kenya, who have expressed interest in his party.

Without revealing their names, Kiunjuri said some of them “only still fear harassment and intimidation from the state”.

“For now, they are unable to face the cameras for the obvious reasons of intimidation and harassment that we have witnessed meted on some leaders,” he said.

He announced that former commissioner at the defunct Interim Independent and Boundaries Review Commission Dr Mwenda Makathimo is the new TSP secretary general deputised by Barua.

The fringe parties battling to vanquish Jubilee from Mt Kenya coupled with the wars in the party have ganged up to obliterate Uhuru's grip of Mt Kenya as he enters his retirement year.

The looming anti-climax for Jubilee comes at a time when internal wrangles have triggered a high-profile falling out sparking a push to overhaul the secretariat and leadership ahead of 2022.

Because of the internal battles politicians are running out of appetite for the once coveted party especially in Mt Kenya and Rift Valley.

Ruto's UDA affiliate is likely to sweep the Rift Valley in the 2022 polls, further blocking the Jubilee outfit from penetrating the region.

-Edited by SKanyara