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Ruto to Tour Msambweni After Summoning 3 Rival Candidates to Karen

by Brian Miano
written by Brian Miano

Deputy President William Ruto has summoned three of the Msambweni parliamentary by-election aspirants to his Karen home in Nairobi for a strategy meeting.

According to a report by The Standard, the second in command has summoned the three rival candidates for him to get one strong candidate that will face ODM’s Omar Boga.

Sources within the DP’s team said yesterday the three aspirants, Feisal Bader, Bashir Kilalo and Peter Nzuki are set to travel to Nairobi for the consultation.

The meeting comes days after police stopped a meeting at Diani Reef Hotel on Friday that was intended to reach a consensus on who among the three aspirants the DP should support against Raila’s candidate.

“The three aspirants and a handful of their supporters are set to travel to Nairobi for a consensus forum so that the best one can face ODM,” said the source that was quoted by the local daily.

Diani OCS Zachary Nyawara blocked former senators Johnstone Muthama, Hassan Omar and Boni Khalwale from entering the hotel on Friday, claiming the conveners did not properly serve a notice for the meeting.

Candidates are expected to present their nomination papers to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission on October 15.

The candidates are seeking to replace MP Suleiman Dori who died on March 9.

The DP  is set to tour Msambweni Constituency, Kwale County on Friday October 16, 2020, ahead of the scheduled mini polls in the region.

According to reports, the second in command was invited by local Imams for a fundraiser.

The DP has been invited for a fundraiser at Bomani village to build an office for Council of Imams and Preachers of Kenya in Kwale.

The invite letter dated September 28, this year was signed by Sheikh Abdallah Mfunga, Kwale County chairman for the Council.

Kwale Governor Salim Mvurya, his deputy Fatuma Achani, Lunga Lunga MP Khatib Mwashetani, Kassim Tandaza (Matuga) and Benjamin Tayari (Kinango) are also invited for the fundraiser, in the letter.

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Politics

PHOTOS: Police Block Ruto Allies From Holding a Campaign Meeting in Msambweni

by Jacinta Mbithi
written by Jacinta Mbithi

Police on Friday October 9, 2020 disrupted a meeting that had been organized by Deputy President William Ruto’s allies in Msambweni.

The meeting that aimed at rallying supporters behind Msambweni by-election Independent Candidate Feisal Bader, was to be attended by former Senators; Johnson Muthama, Hassan Omar, Boni Khalwale, and Kikuyu MP Kimani Ichungwa.

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Khalwale had earlier on tweeted saying that they were heading to Msambweni to hit the ground running for DP Ruto’s preferred candidate.

Reports alleged that a contingent of police officers barricaded roads leading to the venue of their pallned meeting.

The DP Ruto allies were set to discuss ways they would use to beat Raila Odinga’s ODM candidate, Omar Boga.

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“Police mounted roadblocks and blocked Faisal Abdalla Bader former Senators; Johnson Muthama, Hassan Omar, Boni Khalwale, and Kikuyu MP Kimani Ichungwa from meeting at the venue,” Soy MP and Jubilee Deputy Secretary-General Caleb Kositany tweeted.

Khalwale, Omar, Muthama and Ichungwah are set to lead campaigns for Feisal as Mombasa governor Hassan Ali Joho leads the  campaigns for ODM Boga who won the party’s nomination as Odinga’s team sets out to reclaim the seat in the December 15 by-elections.

Jubilee Party declined to field a candidate owing to the handshake between Odinga and President Uhuru Kenyatta, forcing DP Ruto to declare his support for Feisal.

The seat was declared vacant after MP Suleiman Dori succumbed to cancer in March 2020.

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Politics

Omar Boga, Nicholas Zani to Fight For ODM Ticket Ahead of Msambweni By-election

by Mustafa Juma
written by Mustafa Juma

Raila Odinga-led Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party will hold its nominations on Thursday ahead of the upcoming Msambweni constituency mini polls.

The Orange party on Wednesday September 30, 2020 announced that the newly inaugurated National Elections Board under the leadership of Catherine Mumma had already put everything in place.

Two parliamentary seat aspirants namely Omar Idd Boga and Eng. Nicholas Zani will be fighting for the Orange party ticket.

“The newly inaugurated National Elections Board the leadership of Ms. Catherine Mumma is set for primaries in Msambweni Constituency tomorrow (Thursday). Two aspirants namely Omar Idd Boga & Eng. Nicholas Zani will be fighting for the party ticket,” ODM announced.

Msambweni Constituency by-election will be held on December 15.

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) said the by-election which was postponed in April will be held under strict COVID-19 regulations.

The seat fell vacant following the death of Suleiman Dori in March. The ODM MP succumbed to cancer.

Deputy President William Ruto had planned to front a candidate in the constituency perceived to be one of the Coast strongholds of Raila’s ODM.

But like his fate in government, politics of ‘handshake’ between President Kenyatta and Raila seem to have cost him yet another chance to prove his political mettle as he gears up for 2022 presidential race.

The second in command then met an independent candidate in the Msambweni by-election, just a day after the Jubilee Party announced it will not field a candidate in the mini poll.

The aspirant, Feisak Abdallah Bader, visited the DP at his Karen residence in the company Members of Parliament from coast region among them Nyali’s Mohammed Ali, Kilifi North’s Owen Mbaya, Lungalunga’s Khatib Mwashetani, Lamu East’s Athman Shariff and Malindi’s Aisha Jumwa.

Details of the meeting were not disclosed but Ruto on Wednesday last week said he will not shy off from supporting a candidate of his choice since the ruling party was not fielding an aspirant.

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Politics

ODM MP Suspended Over His Dalliance With DP Ruto

by Mustafa Juma
written by Mustafa Juma

Raila Odinga-led Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) has suspended Kilifi North Member of Parliament Owen Baya.

The party in a statement on Saturday said the National Executive Council had resolved to suspend the legislator after he recently showed disloyalty to the Orange party.

“NEC also approved the SUSPENSION of Hon. Owen Baya from the NEC following his public utterances that have been unkind to the party and its leadership. The Disciplinary Committee will take up the matter and make a verdict,” reads a tweet by the ODM party.

Baya was suspended after a two-day retreat at Stoni Athi Resort in Athi River.

As a result of the suspension, the MP  had also been relieved of his post as the party’s deputy organising secretary.

“Cognisant of the central role that the party’s NEC plays in the management of the party and the need to maintain the probity of its deliberations, the NEC resolved to suspend Hon. Owen Baya, the MP for Kilifi North from membership of this critical organ and from his position as the Deputy Organisisng Secretary given his recent utterances and conduct that have cast doubt on his commitment to this party and its onbjectives,” ODM Secretary General Edwin Sifuna said.

On Wednesday, Baya was part of a delegation of Coast MPs that escorted Feisal Abdallah Bader, an aspirant for the Msambweni parliamentary seat, to meet Deputy President William Ruto at his Karen office.

His woes seem to have escalated after he accompanied the Msambweni aspirant to DP’s Karen home.

ODM will be fielding a candidate in the Msambweni by-election and has reached an agreement with Jubilee not to field their candidate.

DP Ruto however contested his party’s move saying he would have wanted to have a candidate battle with ODM.

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Sharlet Mariam
Politics

Sharlet Mariam Dares DP Ruto in a Viral Video After Being Dumped

by Mustafa Juma
written by Mustafa Juma

Sharlet Mariam Akinyi, the lady who ditched Raila Odinga’s ODM to be endorsed by Deputy President William Ruto has responded after the second in command dumped her to support another candidate.

In a viral video that has been doing rounds on social media, Sharlet has expressed her disappointment in DP Ruto, whom she has accused of double standards.

Ruto on Thursday met another independent candidate Faisal Bader at his Karen residence in Nairobi, just a day after camping at Jubilee headquarters with Sharlet, who was confident of the DP’s support in her quest to clinch the Msambweni parliamentary seat which became vacant following the death of Suleiman Dori.

Sharlet dared Ruto to campaign for another contestant, but be prepared to lose to her as she was keen on clinching the seat. She noted that the DP was pretending to be supporting hustlers and the poor, only for him to land on a dynasty in the politics of inheritance.

She declared that she would contest on an independent ticket after Jubilee shortchanged her.

“Mwanamke amejitokeza na anafinyiliwa chini. Mimi nasema ivi, niko tayari kupambana na wanaume. Dynasties or no dynasties…mimi niko tayari kupambana na wanaume, (which losely translates to, It is so sad that a woman is repressed when she stands out to fight for an equal right. I am ready to face all men. Dynasties or no dynasties),” she said.

She added that Ruto had betrayed her by showcasing double standards. She stated that the DP had promised to support the poor in Msambweni through her, but left her hanging out to dry.

Asked whether she was aware that the DP was supporting Feisal, Mariam bitterly lamented that she was a victim of the row between ODM leader Raila Odinga and Ruto.

On Wednesday, September 23, Tuju announced that Jubilee was not going to field any candidate in Msambweni owing to the handshake between Odinga and Kenyatta.

The December 15 by-election is Ruto’s tactical approach of testing waters ahead of the 2022 elections. Analysts widely expect him to vie against Odinga in 2022. 

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Ruto
Politics

Details of Uhuru’s Phone Call That Humbled The ‘Defiant’ Ruto

by Mustafa Juma
written by Mustafa Juma

President Uhuru Kenyatta on Wednesday shattered his deputy William Ruto’s plans to flex muscles with ODM leader Raila Odinga in the upcoming Msambweni Parliamentary by-elections.

According to a report by one of the leading local dailies, Uhuru made a 30-minutes phone call through Jubilee party Secretary General Raphael Tuju’s phone, which was put on a loudspeaker to address the second in command.

Ruto had arrived at the ruling party’s headquarters along Thika Road in Pangani, Nairobi barely an hour after Tuju made an announcement that Jubilee was not going to field a candidate in the by-elections, citing the ‘handshake’ between President Kenyatta and Raila.

It has since emerged that Tuju placed a phone call to Uhuru, where the DP was reportedly cornered and told to stand with the party position.

Ruto then emerged from the meeting to announce he would stand by the party’s decision.

However, barely a day after this commitment, Ruto, in a sign of defiance, met an independent candidate for the seat – Feisal Abdallah Bader – yesterday morning.

The meeting confirmed the DP’s determination to face off with Raila in the campaigns, which he is likely to use to gauge his support base in Kwale County.

He met Bader in the presence of his allies from the Coast region.

“Met an aspirant for Msambweni parliamentary seat Feisal Abdallah Bader in the company of Coast MPs Athman Shariff (Lamu East), Mohammed Ali (Nyali), Owen Baya (Kilifi North), Khatib Mwashetani (Lunga Lunga) and Aisha Jumwa (Malindi) at Karen, Nairobi County,” tweeted Ruto.

The decision by Ruto to endorse Bader was surprising given he was with Mariam Sharlete at the party headquarters on Wednesday.

Ruto and Tuju are said to have proceeded to the party’s boardroom on Wednesday for a meeting before the secretary-general placed a phone call to the president, who was in Mombasa.

The call was put on loudspeaker for the three officials to discuss the reason for not fielding a candidate. It lasted 30 minutes, according to officials at the party.

Tuju is said to have taken Ruto through an internal document prepared by the party, with Uhuru listening in.

A top party official said the decision was made to stop Ruto from engaging in a political confrontation with Raila, who is enjoying a close working relationship with the ruling party.

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Politics

Ruto Finally Introduces His Candidate For Msambweni By-Elections

by Mustafa Juma
written by Mustafa Juma

Deputy President William Ruto on Thursday September 24, 2020 introduced his preferred candidate for the upcoming Msambweni by-elections.

This comes just a day after the second in command was cornered by Jubilee party Secretary General Raphael Tuju at the party’s headquarters along Thika Road in Pangani, Nairobi.

The DP had on Wednesday hoped to turn the tables on the party and hand the ticket to a candidate for the by-elections.

However, Tuju had already announced that the party was not going to field a candidate in the by-election occasioned by the death of MP Suleiman Dori.

He then held a two-hour meeting with Ruto, who then came out to announce that he would abide by the party decision though he did not agree with it.

The DP said he was of a different view on Jubilee fielding a candidate and said he was not consulted.

He had however, hinted that he would support any candidate who is not a Jubilee party member, that will approach him seeking for his support.

Notably, Mariam Sharlete, who recently decamped from ODM, had arrived at Jubilee headquarters to pick her nomination papers for the December 15 by-election.

A day later, the DP hosted another candidate at his Karen residence in Nairobi.

The second in command met Feisal Abdallah Bader who was in the company of Coast MPs Athman Shariff (Lamu East), Mohamed Ali (Nyali), Owen Baya (Kilifi North), Khatib Mwashetani (Lunga Lunga) and Aisha Jumwa (Malindi).

“Met an aspirant for Msambweni parliamentary seat Feisal Abdallah Bader in company of Coast MPs Athman Shariff (Lamu East), @MohaJichoPevu (Nyali), Owen Baya (Kilifi North), Khatib Mwashetani (Lunga Lunga) and @HonJumwa (Malindi) at Karen, Nairobi County,” he tweeted.

Jumwa, who is an ODM rebel MP, and Mohamed Ali are some of the strongest DP Ruto allies from the Coastal region.

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