President Uhuru Kenyatta has proven that he is not a lame-duck President after the endorsement of Football Star MacDonald Mariga as Jubilee's candidate for the Kibra by-election, Nyeri Town Member of Parliament has said.
In a post on Facebook, Ngunjiri said that the excitement within the TangaTanga proves that Deputy President William Ruto cannot afford to go into an election with the support of the commander-in-chief of the armed forces.
The lawmaker also said that Uhuru has shown that he is still a force to reckon after the move elicited mixed reactions from different factions. He also said that Deputy President William Ruto's camp is lightweight, adding that the second in command is depending on the President to win the 2022 race when that time comes.
"TangaTanga are over the moon that Jubilee Party Leader Uhuru Kenyatta accepted to ‘unveil’ Mariga for Kibra earlier today. It feels like a big win for them - and it is brilliant PR. They are also using it to push back against those of us who have been arguing that TangaTanga must respect the President. But in reality, what today reveals is the fact that these guys are light-weights," he said.
He also asked members of the TangaTanga team to accept that Ruto was not strong enough to sell the football star in Kibra until Uhuru came into the board. The lawmaker also said that the endorsement of the candidate has nothing to do with the handshake but will strengthen the same. He further said that without Uhuru, Ruto is a nobody in the political scene.
"But - it is also clear that TangaTanga has had to accept that if Mariga was to go to Kibra as a ‘Ruto candidate’ he would lose embarrassingly. This is why they had to do everything possible to have Uhuru unveil him as a Jubilee candidate.
"So today what we have seen is actually an acceptance by Ruto and his team that they aren’t ready to go into any election, anywhere, without Uhuru’s blessing and support, he added.