Kinangop MP Kwenya Thuku has questioned the process through which former Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i was selected as the Jubilee Party’s presidential flag bearer for the 2027 General Election.
Jubilee announced Matiang’i as its presidential flag bearer on October 30, 2025, following a meeting of the party’s National Executive Council (NEC). At the time, Matiang’i was serving as the party’s deputy leader.
Speaking on a local radio station on Wednesday, Kwenya said he believed the decision had not involved sufficient consultation within the party.
He also questioned the role of former President Uhuru Kenyatta, who was the party leader at the time, in decisions affecting the party.
“Who said that Matiang’i is the presidential candidate for Jubilee? We are lacking the opportunity to decide,” Kwenya said.
“Former President [Uhuru] is the one who decides who will hold which position. I am saying this with a lot of respect. There is nowhere he has consulted with the party. That is why there is a lot of squabbling in the NEC. The party is completely disjointed,” he said.
Kwenya called for greater participation by party members in determining its leadership and presidential candidate.
“We have to change. The party leader has to accept that the party can’t be a one-man-show. The party is its people.
“Allow people to decide who they want to be the presidential flagbearer,” he added.
The remarks come as Matiang’i steps up his political activities ahead of the 2027 General Election.
Matiang’i took over the leadership of Jubilee from Uhuru on September 22 during a transition meeting at the party’s headquarters in Nairobi.
Former President Uhuru Kenyatta had asked Jubilee Party members to support Matiang’i as the next party leader ahead of an upcoming National Delegates Convention (NDC).
Uhuru said he would remain an active senior member and adviser to the party.
“We will also have a candidate who will speak with other candidates so that we can know the way forward. There is this son from Kisii called Fred Matiang’i. Allow me to take a senior advisory role. I beseech you to receive and support Fred Okeng’o Matiang’i,” said Uhuru.
Kwenya, who is among the MPs from the Mt Kenya region allied to President William Ruto, also attributed some of Jubilee’s challenges since the 2022 General Election to what he described as limited engagement between the party leadership and its elected MPs.
He said efforts to have Uhuru convene a Parliamentary Group meeting for Jubilee MPs had not yielded results.
“After 2022, a lot has happened. Our party leader has never assembled the team that was elected through Jubilee. He has never held a single meeting for the Jubilee Party,” Kwenya said.
He said Jubilee MPs were initially brought together under the Azimio coalition, which he claimed presented challenges for the party's elected legislators.
“Initially, he pushed us to Azimio. We were being convened under the umbrella of Azimio, which he had no control over,” he said.
Kwenya also recalled seeking assistance from the late former President of ODM, Raila Odinga, over the challenges he said Jubilee MPs faced in Parliament.
“We suffered a lot. During our early days in Parliament, I and the late Kiaraho (the deceased Ol Kalou MP David Kiaraho) had to go to the late Raila and explain the challenges we were passing through due to the mistreatment we were getting from ODM,” he said.
He said the two legislators subsequently received assistance, including in securing preferred parliamentary committee positions.
“When we tried to reach the party leader and the party’s leadership, it was very difficult,” he said.
Kwenya further recalled a private conversation with Uhuru during the burial of the wife of former minister Amos Kimunya, where he said he raised concerns about the party.
“I remember, during the burial of the wife of Amos Kimunya, I had a one-on-one conversation with Uhuru Kenyatta. I explained to him the challenges we were undergoing as a party.
“Uhuru promised that he would call me and have a talk about those issues. I left with a lot of hope,” he said.
Kwenya said he did not receive the follow-up he had anticipated.
He also expressed concern about what he described as Jubilee's declining political influence since the 2022 General Election.
“Our party has been on a downward spiral. We have been bypassed in popularity by some parties which were started recently,” he said.
