This archive report was first published on 4 September 2019.
On September 3, 2019, Morris Peter Kinyanjui, a Jubilee aspirant for the Kibra mini poll, petitioned the party's Secretary-General, Raphael Tuju, over the selection of football star McDonald Mariga as its candidate.
Kinyanjui claimed that Mariga's selection was 'not only unfair, deceptive and shrouded in secrecy but also contrary to the provisions of the Jubilee Party constitution.'
He pointed out that Article 11 of the party's constitution requires 'open, free, fair and transparent nomination in national and county elections through consensus, secret ballot or through the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC)'. However, Kinyanjui alleged that the party's National Elections Board (NEB) conducted the selection in secrecy, without informing the aspirants.
NEB chairman Andrew Musangi defended the party's choice of Mariga, stating that he emerged the best among other 15 contestants. Musangi maintained that the process was free, fair, transparent and constitutional, and that all disgruntled members were free to lodge their complaints.
However, Kinyanjui claimed that he only learned of Mariga's nomination through the media, and that it depicted 'a sad reminder of the dark Kanu days.'
Mariga's eligibility as a candidate has also been questioned, with claims that he was only registered as a voter less than three weeks ago and that his name was not yet among the gazetted Kibra voters by IEBC.
