The race to inherit Uhuru Kenyatta’s Jubilee Party has exploded into the open, triggering a fresh power struggle that could test Fred Matiang’i’s grip on the former ruling outfit.
Hours after Uhuru signalled he was ready to hand over the party leadership, deputy party leader Jeremiah Kioni threw his hat into the ring.
“In light of His Excellency's call for an open, transparent and lawful process of handing over the leadership of the party, I hereby offer myself for the position of party leader of the great Jubilee Party,” he said in a statement on Tuesday.
The former Jubilee secretary general declared he would embark on a grassroots campaign to win the backing of Jubilee delegates for the seat.
He said the party's leadership should be determined through its internal democratic processes rather than being installed by individuals.
“Jubilee is a national party and a former ruling party. As such, our leaders are not installed; they are elected by the party delegates at the National Delegates Convention,” he said.
Kioni said the process should preserve what he described as Jubilee's democratic tradition and guide the party through the leadership transition.
The move has shattered the assumption that Matiang’i, who is Jubilee’s presidential choice for the 2027 elections, would automatically emerge as Uhuru’s political heir in the party.
His backers, however, insist he should naturally succeed Uhuru as the new party leader.
Political activist Morara Kebaso, a close ally of the Jubilee presidential candidate, said it was obvious Matiang'i would take over.
“As Matiang’i takes over the party leadership from Uhuru, I volunteer my skills, passion and youthful energy to serve in any other vacancies in the national leadership of the party,” he said.
The battle now threatens to pit two of Jubilee’s most prominent figures against each other in a contest over the party’s machinery, delegates and political direction.
Kioni has announced he will reach out to delegates across the country to seek their support, effectively taking the succession fight from the corridors of party leadership to the grassroots.
“I look forward to engaging with our members and delegates across the country in the days ahead, as we chart the next chapter for our party together,” he said.
The emerging contest is being closely watched in Mt Kenya, where sections of Uhuru’s allies are understood to be uncomfortable with the former ruling party being handed over to an outsider.
Former Nyeri Town MP Ngunjiri Wambugu said the contest can only be sorted out by party delegates.
“Only the National Delegates Convention that I have been asking for can and will determine who is our next party leader after our beloved Uhuru Kenyatta. No more shortcuts,” he said.
“As we discuss who the NDC will elect as the next party leader, we must differentiate between the roles of a party leader and a presidential aspirant. One will need to focus on a party for all aspirants, while the other will focus on his own presidential race on the party’s ticket.”
The former MP is behind the court petition that challenged the appointment of senior Jubilee Party officials, including Matiang’i.
Matiang’i has increasingly been presented as Jubilee’s candidate for the 2027 presidential contest, but his emergence as Uhuru’s potential political successor has not been universally embraced within the party’s traditional Mt Kenya power base.
The fault lines have been visible in the prolonged fight over Jubilee’s leadership.
A recent court battle that culminated in the removal of Moitalel ole Kenta as secretary general has further exposed the deep divisions over control of the party and its leadership structures.
The Political Parties Disputes Tribunal last week quashed the appointment and recognition of Kenta as secretary general of Jubilee Party, finding he did not meet the eligibility requirements for the position.
The tribunal ruled that Kenta’s nomination, appointment and recognition as the party’s secretary general in March were unlawful and void from the outset.
The tribunal also issued an order quashing Kenta’s appointment and recognition as secretary general and directed the party to undertake a fresh process to fill the position if it wished to do so.
The decision followed a challenge by Wambugu, who contested changes made to the party’s leadership and their subsequent recognition by the Registrar of Political Parties.
Wambugu, through his lawyer Moses Mabeya, argued the process leading to the changes was procedurally flawed and contravened statutory and constitutional requirements relating to fair administrative action.
The changes included the recording of Matiang’i as deputy secretary general, alongside other officials who were recorded by the registrar as duly recognised Jubilee Party office bearers.
In the case, Wambugu sued the Registrar of Political Parties alongside Matiang’i, Kioni, Vincent Kemosi, Kenta, Zack Kinuthia, Yasir Noor and Dann Mwangi.
Wambugu contended that despite lodging a statutory objection to the changes, the registrar proceeded to adopt and record the disputed changes without giving him an opportunity to be heard.
