Rarieda MP Otiende Amollo has claimed President Uhuru Kenyatta was not party to the picking of football star McDonald Mariga to represent Jubilee party in the looming Kibra by-election.
The remark came only hours after Uhuru, the Jubilee party leader, endorsed Mariga at State House, crowning him the Jubilee candidate and assuring him of his backing.
However, Otiende is of the opinion that President Kenyatta might have not been in support of Mariga initially, hence his silence on the matter, and must have been persuaded to back him.
He claimed Mariga appears not to enjoy the backing of the entire Jubilee party, but only a section allied to Deputy President William Ruto popularly known as Tangatanga group.
"This is a Tangatanga candidate, they are only roping in the president now," he said on KTN News' Pointblank show on Wednesday night.
At the same time, he added that his ODM party, whose flag will be flown by Imran Okoth, will participate in the elections despite complains against the national poll body.
Amollo is on record calling for a complete cleanup of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) after it approved Mariga's candidature on Monday, despite having earlier said he was not in the voter list.
He said the party has no option, as the only remaining alternative would be to boycott the November 7, contest, which he said will not happen.
"Its true that IEBC has made so many mistakes but this is a case of necessity. The only other option is to pull out," he added.
Imran is brother to former holder of the seat the late Ken Okoth, and will have to go through among others, Mariga and Ford Kenya's Khamisi Butichi to retain the seat for ODM.