Deputy President William Ruto on Wednesday afternoon stormed
Jubilee Party headquarters moments after secretary general Raphael Tuju issued
a statement on pending by-elections.
Ruto arrived at the offices located in Pangani off Thika Superhighway
at around 2pm accompanied by his aides led by blogger Dennis Itumbi.
Tuju had issued an official statement announcing that the
ruling party would not field any candidate in the Msambweni parliamentary by-election.
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“Following consultations within the party, it has been
decided that the Jubilee Party will not be fielding a candidate in the forthcoming
Msambweni parliamentary by-election,” said Tuju in the statement.
He went on: “We have received some enquiries from some
potentially strong aspirats who would have wished to contest the seat left
vacant following the death of ODM legislator Suleiman Ramadhani Dori.”
Tuju further explained in the statement that the decision not
to field a candidate in Msambweni was in the interest of the close working relationship
between Jubilee Party and ODM.
The Jubilee SG intimated that the ruling party would leave the seat to Raila Odinga’s party “in the interest of the bigger picture” coming as the Building Bridges Initiative referendum looms.
My Statement on the pending Msambweni Parliamentary By-election. pic.twitter.com/EbnTbcErvR
President Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila’s parties have been cooperating within and without parliament on various crucial matters since their handshake in the interest of peace.
DP Ruto on Tuesday evening also made an improptu visit to the party headquarters to check on its preparedness ahead of the pending mini polls announced by electoral body IEBC only to be met by empty offices with no Jubilee official in sight.
Read: DP Ruto makes surprise visit to Jubilee headquarters, officials go missing