The ruling Jubilee Party has handed a nomination certificate to musician cum Mathare Parliamentary aspirant Kevin Kioko alias Bahati in a reverse turn of fortunes.
Jubilee Secretary-General, Jeremiah Kioni announced that Bahati will vie for the seat under the Jubilee ticket during a press briefing on Friday, May 13 at the party headquarters in Nairobi.
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Kioni noted that the party had the interests of the youth at heart, and thus decided to hand him back his ticket.
Bahati made headlines when he broke down in front of cameras during a press conference on Monday, April 25. He had faulted the Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya coalition for choosing to support ODM’s candidate and current MP Tom Oluoch.
He urged Uhuru and coalition party leader Raila Odinga to rescue him and give the people of Mathare a chance to elect their preferred aspirant.
“I respect you my president and I respect Raila Amollo Odinga but please, give the youth of this country a chance.
“I know there is zoning and Mathare has been zoned as an ODM area but for this one time, give the youth of this country a chance. Give the people of Mathare a chance to choose the leader they have always wanted,” Bahati said.
He asked the two leaders to accord him justice and avert the risk of his nomination certificate being revoked by the party.
He added that he had worked very hard to meet the requirements that saw him topple four others to fly the Jubilee flag for the Mathare constituency.
His sentiments ignited a standoff between him and Jubilee Party Director of Elections, Kanini Kega, with Kega noting that ODM had contacted them seeking an explanation for fielding a candidate in an area that was already determined by the party.
He added that Jubilee, ODM and Wiper had agreed to zone constituencies in Nairobi based on their performance in the 2017 general elections, meaning that the agreement was broken.
Additionally, Kega took note of the increased number of artists and comedians vying for elective seats, clarifying that they were not equipped to lead the country just because they are famous.
In response, Bahati revealed that Kega was the one supporting his bid as he handed over the nomination certificate to him.
“I’m not going to politics because I feel like I’m popular. If it’s popularity, I would have run for governor. I am going to represent my people, that’s why I had to request the president because I know someone had to come through to address this so that the people get justice,” he responded in an interview with NTV.
The Size Yangu hitmaker noted that he found it hard to accept that he was being told to return the Jubilee party ticket; hence he was unable to control his emotions during the presser. He accused the Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya coalition of opting to support ODM’s candidate and current MP Tom Oluoch.
He then clarified that he did not want Oluoch to step down but rather for him to remain on the ballot so that he could beat him fair and square.
