Led by Millicent Omanga, aspirant for the senate seat and Sonia Birdi (Makadara parliamentary aspirant), the URP leaders claimed they were being intimidated by TNA partners.
“We have received threatening calls from TNA colleagues who want URP candidates to keep off Nairobi County politics. It’s unacceptable,” Ms Omanga said at a news conference in Nairobi yesterday.
Birdi said URP would not bow to pressure and intimidation ahead of the nomination and the coalition principals, Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta, Eldoret North MP William Ruto and Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi should address the issue.
“To avert a fall out, the principals should address this issue and put it to rest. We have come this far and we cannot afford to turn back at this point in time. TNA should stop these overbearing acts in dealing with us,” Birdi said. “As a party, URP is in the Jubilee coalition to play good ball and we will play good ball.”
They claimed the party aspirants in Makadara, Embakasi, Westlands and Mathare constituencies had been intimidated and they had reported the issue to the party leadership.
URP Nairobi secretary-general Stephen Jaoko said a free and fair joint nomination process should be undertaken.
Meanwhile, URP spokesman and Dujis MP Aden Duale has said the various seats in Nairobi County would be contested by the coalition partners and that any threat against party members and aspirants should be treated with the contempt it deserves.
And TNA national chairman Johnson Sakaja said the party was against any form of intimidation by its aspirants’ supporters or officials.
“Everyone has a constitutional right to vie for any elective position and in TNA we abhor any kind of threats or intimidation,” Sakaja said.
However, URP chairman Francis ole Kaparo said the threats had not been reported to him.
The spat only comes to the fore a few hours before the Jubilee coalition picks a presidential flag bearer in Nairobi in a race pitting Uhuru and Mudavadi.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment