Jubilee Party Secretary General Raphael Tuju has come out all defensive against rumors that President Uhuru Kenyatta has endorsed former Gatanga MP Peter Kenneth for Nairobi Governorship.
In a statement to the press on Tuesday, Tuju said the President does not have any preferred candidate for any elective seat.
He said that Uhuru is bent on ensuring that democracy in his Jubilee Party makes decisions on who should represent the people of a certain locality.
“Our attention has been drawn to media reports suggesting that his Excellency the President, in his role as the leader of Jubilee Party, has indicated support for a candidate in the Nairobi Gubernatorial race. These reports are untrue,” read the statement.
The rumors spread quickly on the internet following Uhuru’s Saturday visit to Gatanga where in his speech to the residents, he urged them to pray for Kenneth as he battles to clinch Nairobi governorship.
This was misinterpreted to mean that he had declared support for Kenneth.
Tuju in the statement maintained that: “The President has not endorsed any candidate, believing that Nairobi Jubilee members will make their choice in a free, fair and credible process at the nominations.”
Kenneth is battling it out with Mike Sonko, currently the city’s Senator.
The two leaders have been embroiled in a supremacy battle over who is best suited to take over leadership from incumbent Governor Evans Kidero on a Jubilee ticket.
Efforts to iron out differences between the two leaders have not yielded to anything.
Both Sonko and Kenneth insist that they are ready to square it out at the primaries.