Makueni Senator Mutula Kilonzo Junior has termed the upcoming Kibera by election to replace the late Ken Okoth a great tragedy.
Appearing on Citizen TV’s JKL Show on Wednesday alongside his Nairobi County counterpart Johnson Sakaja, Kilonzo Junior said the by-election is no longer about replacing Okoth, who died in July.
“The tragedy about Kibra is that this is no longer a by-election of replacing Ken Okoth may his soul rest in peace. It is just about handshake versus no handshake or whatever is it that we are arguing about in the political scene,” said the Senator.
According to the senator, issues concerning the Kibra people have been relegated to the back bench as politicians and political parties make their case ahead of the 2022 general elections.
“It is no longer about Kibra. It is about brinkmanship, so you are going to have all the drama in the world,” he insisted.
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has set Kibra by-election for November 07, 2019 with major political parties among the ODM, ANC, Jubilee and Ford Kenya fielding candidates.
However, Jubilee’s candidate Macdonald Mariga was struck of the candidates’ list on Tuesday by IEBC as a result of his name missing in the voter’s register. He has since appealed the decision.