ANC poll losers cry foul after missing out on state appointments
Amani National Congress party national chairman Kelvin Lunani
At least 40 Amani National Congress (ANC) poll losers from Central Rift Valley have accused the party of favouring members from western Kenya when it comes to key government appointments.
Ms Eunice Lelei, who vied for the Nakuru Woman Rep position and lost, claimed that despite the party agreement that all party members will be considered for key appointments in the national and county governments, the party leadership was giving priority to ANC members from Western Kenya.
“Our Party seems to be favouring members of ANC from the Western region, we feel sidelined,” said Ms Lelei.
She added: “ANC party members from Western Kenya dominate key positions in the Kenya Kwanza government while members from Central Rift are watching from the periphery.”
Ms Lelei said ANC members from Nakuru County contributed about 70 per cent of votes to President William Ruto’s victory.
Party unity
“We urge Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi and Acting party leader Lamu Governor Issa Timamy to intervene for the sake of party unity,” said Ms Lelei.
“The party has fast forgotten it had aspirants in Nakuru and other parts of the country who need to be considered for top appointments in the two levels of government,” said Ms Lelei.
Ms Susan Wanjiru warned that the party might lose support in the Rift Valley if their concerns are not addressed.
“It is very unfortunate that [the] ANC is not honouring what we agreed on. Let ANC live true to the pre-election agreement. No ANC aspirant in Nakuru has been considered for national or county appointments,” Ms Wanjiru said.
Baseless claims
However, ANC chairman Kelvin Lunani termed the claims as ‘baseless’.
“The appointing authority is the President and the positions that have been filled so far are few. The President appointed the Prime Cabinet Secretary from ANC and that is a sign of good things to come. The aspirants should give President Ruto and Mr Mudavadi time to reorganize the government,” said Mr Lunani.
He added: "Some people overrate themselves. The fact that the aspirants vied on ANC tickets doesn’t mean they contributed more to the party. We had so many strategists, planners, legal experts and a technical team. People should lobby for other appointments from the county they come from instead of eying the national government slots alone.”
