Kioni links UDA elections dominance to 'bribery'

Jubilee Party secretary-general Jeremiah Kioni on Friday attributed the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) dominance in the August 9 General Election results to the politics of bribery.

"We witnessed massive voter bribery never witnessed before ... We suffered for not bribing and we paid the price of being kicked out of our seats," he said.

But he did not provide any evidence to back his claims, only saying "we will form a committee that will table a report about the same in the near future".

He said "none of us is bitter about the loss ... rather, we are proud that we stood for a cause that we believed in and stood firmly in it. There is always a tomorrow".

But Murang'a governor-elect Irungu Kang'ata dismissed Mr Kioni's bribery claims as "effects of shock and bitterness".

He said: "I would like to help him understand that Mt Kenya voters went to the ballot to free themselves from a Jubilee rule gone rogue."

Dr Kang'ata said that "had the Jubilee leadership listened to the people and aspired to do their political bidding, all would have been well for them".

He accused Mr Kioni of "presiding over shambolic party primaries that issued direct nominations to aspirants instead of letting the people endorse [their] own preferences".

Dr Kang'ata said "what Mr Kioni is calling voter bribery was an interaction with the people as we consulted and engaged them on how they wished their leaders behave".

Mr Kioni said that the "Jubilee Party is proud that despite the poor showing, all those who defeated us will be in opposition as we serve the people from the government terraces".

He said that "the UDA has effectively managed to drive our people from the Government to the opposition".

He insisted that Azimio remains the better deal for Mt Kenya "and we will be interceding for you to survive the next five years before another option to rethink your decision presents itself".

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