Why Sonko Will not be Allowed to Vie for Governor on a Jubilee Ticket

Nairobi Senator Mike Sonko has been left isolated as close allies desert him for rival.

Nairobi Senator Mike Sonko.

The Nairobi senator has now lost his close allies in the county, after they left him for former Gatanga MP Peter Kenneth.

Among those who vowed to support Kenneth are; Eambakasi West MP George Theuri and his Mathare counterpart Steven Kariuki.

Kariuki’s mother the former Starehe MP Margaret Wanjiru, who previously promised to back Sonko is also eying the Nairobi gubernatorial seat.

Embakasi West MPGeorge Theuri and Nairobi Senator Mike Sonko.

In a show of force, Kenneth accompanied by 12 Nairobi MPs, officially handed his nomination papers at Jubilee Party headquarters.

The 12 MPs included Nairobi Woman Representative Rachel Shebesh, nominated MP Sonia Birdi, Waihenya Ndirangu (Roysambu), John Chege (Kasarani), James Mwangi (Embakasi North) and John Ndirangu (Embakasi Central).

Others were George Theuri (Embakasi West), Benson Mutura (Makadara), Yusuf Hassan (Kamukunji), Maina Kamanda (Starehe, TNA) and Steven Kariuki (Mathare, ODM).

The move by Theuri and Mutura to back Kenneth will feel like a stab in the back for Sonko who supported them in 2013.

Peter Kenneth.

Nominated MP Johnson Sakaja and Dagoretti South MP Dennis Waweru who have been on Sonko’s side since the entry of Kenneth into Nairobi politics have refused to drop out of the Nairobi gubernatorial race in favour of Kenneth.

The latest developments came just hours after a Jubilee legislator launched a petition to kick out Sonko from the gubernatorial race.

Kiharu MP Irungu Kang’ata claimed Sonko did not fully meet requirements to be governor of the county.