Jubilee ordered to field MCA Mark Ndung'u in Makadara parliamentary race
Jubilee Party Secretary General Jeremiah Jioni (left) puts a cap on Maringo/Hamza MCA Mark Ndung'u.
What you need to know:
- Party’s intention to appeal the ruling dismissed in a communication issued on May 20, 2022.
- Mr Ndung'u likely to face off with ODM's George Aladwa and UDA's Anthony Mwangi.
The political parties dispute tribunal has ordered Jubilee Party to issue Maringo/Hamza MCA Mark Ndung'u with a certificate to contest the Makadara parliamentary seat.
The tribunal, sitting in Kakamega, has further ordered the party to issue Mr Ndung'u with final nomination certificate and forward his name to the Independent electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
Mr Ndung'u had sought the tribunal's intervention restraining Jubilee Party and all member parties under Azimio la Umoja One Kenya coalition party from submitting the name of their nominee and candidate for the seat IEBC under the zoning system.
This is in addition to seeking to have Jubilee Party ordered to issue him with a nomination certificate as their sole candidate for the seat in the August 9 General Election.
Jubilee Party is listed in the suit as the first respondent, the party's chairperson as the second respondent, the chairperson of the party's elections board as the third respondent and Azimio as the fourth respondent.
Read: Jubilee hears Bahati cries, issues him Mathare ticket
"It is hereby ordered that the first, second and third respondents are directed to forthwith issue to the complainant Mark Ndung'u Ng'ang'a with a final nomination certificate to contest for the position of MP for Makadara constituency in Nairobi on a Jubilee Party ticket and to forward his name to the IEBC," the ruling reads in part.
The party’s intention to appeal the ruling was dismissed by the tribunal. The communication was issued on May 20, 2022.
“I am not alone. The party took our money and failed to issue us with the certificates because of the zoning system," Mr Ndung'u said after the order was issued.
He said the party had also failed to reimburse nomination fees paid by aspirants after failing to hold nominations.
The new development will see Mr Ndung'u face off with ODM's George Aladwa, who is seeking to defend the seat, and UDA candidate Anthony Mwangi.
Mr Aladwa was set to fly Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya coalition party's flag under a zoning arrangement within the outfit.
However, the entry of the ward representative is likely to throw Azimio's plans into disarray. Azimio had zoned Nairobi into party strongholds in a bid to boost their chances of winning a majority seats in the county.
In the arrangement, Jubilee was allocated eight seats, same as ODM, while Wiper Party was allocated just one seat (Embakasi South). Makadara constituency is one of the seats that had been reserved for ODM.
The arrangement has however sparked sharp divisions within the coalition with some prospective candidates faulting it for favouring the bigwigs.
Disgruntled aspirants have also blamed Azimio for not holding primaries and instead issuing direct tickets using opinion polls.
Last week, Jubilee Party issued musician-turned-politician Kevin Kioko, alias Bahati, with a certificate after initially withdrawing the same in favour of ODM's Anthony Oluoch, who is the incumbent.
