This archive report was first published on 9 October 2019.
McDonald Mariga, the Jubilee Party candidate in the Kibra by-election, has received the full support of President Uhuru Kenyatta and the Jubilee Party, according to Raphael Tuju, the party's Secretary-General.
Speaking on Citizen TV on October 8, 2019, Tuju dismissed allegations that Mariga was sneaked into State House through a back door, stating that the President had invited Mariga to meet with him.
"I can assure you that the President will fully support Mariga, and he did not enter State House through the back door as some people claim. I was there, and I'm the one who took him to meet the President," Tuju said.
Mariga has been at the center of controversy after he was invited to State House by President Kenyatta, who promised to fully support him in the Kibra by-election.
Mariga is facing off against Imran Okoth of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) and Eliud Owalo of the Amani National Congress (ANC) in the November 7 by-election.
