This archive report was first published on 28 September 2019.
Deputy President William Ruto's alleged backdoor deal to endorse McDonald Mariga for the Kibra constituency by-election has been revealed by Gender Chief Administrative Secretary Rachel Shebesh.
According to Shebesh, she witnessed the drama unfold at State House on the day photos of President Uhuru Kenyatta endorsing Mariga emerged.
"On the day of Mariga's endorsement, I was at State House. I know how they accessed using the back-door. I also know how they piled pressure for the photos that you saw online," Shebesh declared.
Shebesh maintained that President Uhuru Kenyatta is solidly behind the handshake and did not utter even a single word to support Mariga's candidature, indicating that the whole endorsement scene was a charade and choreographed against his wishes.
"Our boss Uhuru has a voice…Dis he utter even a single word (endorsing Mariga)? Doesn't he have a voice to say what he wants? Why were there only photos without his speech?" Shebesh fired.
Shebesh urged Kenyans to rally behind the handshake, whose fruits they would enjoy, adding that it is President Kenyatta who looked for Raila Odinga to pursue national unity.
Initial reports indicated that Jubilee party was not keen on fielding a candidate for the Kibra seat but a team allied to DP Ruto insisted on doing so and even submitted Mariga's name to IEBC.
Party Secretary General later dismissed initial reports of Mariga contesting on a Jubilee party ticket before handing him the party ticket after a vetting exercise.
The decision has since created a rift in Jubilee with several MPs openly declaring that they would support ODM's candidate Imran Okoth.
DP Ruto has taken the Kibra race as a personal political battle, vowing to aggressively campaign for Mariga until he wins the seat.
