Former Kajiado Governor Quits ODM To Dare Lenku In Jubilee Primaries

Kajiado Governor Joseph Lenku on Tuesday evening presented his nomination papers at Jubilee headquarters in Nairobi in his bid to defend his seat ahead of the former Kajiado governor

who is expected at Jubilee headquarters after he ditched ODM on Tuesday. Upon submitting his nomination papers, Lenku said he welcomes Nkedianye to Jubilee, "it is the most democratic party in the country." he said MP Joseph Manje, who announced Nkedianye’s defection from ODM, said the decision was reached last week after the former governor discovered he was 'being played by individuals in the party. “We realized that all was not going well in ODM and decided that we should join the Jubilee Party where we will meet with Governor Lenku in the nominations,” Manje said.

Manje comes from the vote-rich Kajiado North constituency Nkedianye’s running mate in this year’s governor race.

According to the IEBC voter register, the Kajiado Norwho has 127,953 voters from the five wards–Olkeri (30,292), Ongata Rongai (26,384), Nkaimurunya (32,274), Oloolua (18,005), and Ngong (20,998). Manje has won the parliamentary seat twice since 2013.

Billy Muiruri who is Lenku’s communication director said on Tuesday that his boss remains strong and focused ahead of the nominations.

“We are prepared for any eventuality. We have the ground. We have covered 90 percent ground in the region and voters have assured us their total support,” Muiruri said. He said the re-election of Governor Lenku in the August election is based on the trust the people of Kajiado have in him. Manje said Nkedianye, who lost most of the votes in Kajiado North because of being in the opposition, will now be embraced by the electorate because of his support.