Nairobi Women Representative Rachel Shebesh has made aspirants eyeing the Thika Town parliamentary seat raise eyebrows for claiming that President Uhuru Kenyatta supports a certain candidate.
According to Shebesh, the president had sent a group of Jubilee female legislators to ask the people of Thika Town Constituency to re-elect the area MP Alice Ng’ang’a.
On Saturday, in an event dubbed 'Women 4 Women', Shebesh said the initiative had the blessings of the President and his Deputy who she said had made a commitment to support women leadership.
“The President is delighted by the work of your MP and he has sent us to request you to re-elect her since she has been very instrumental in advocating the agenda of Jubilee government,” Shebesh told hundreds of women attending the meeting at CCM Makongeni Church hall.
“Jubilee is the only party that recognises women’s leadership and that is why Uhuru and Ruto sent us to drum up support for more women to rise to positions of leadership,” she added.
In a joint press statement issued by a group of aspirants seeking to unseat Ng'ang'a, they said the remarks made by the Nairobi MP were misrepresenting the position of Jubilee Party on the party's intention to place a level playing ground for all its aspirants from different parts of the country.
"The statement made by Rachel Shebesh wrongly purport that the President has already endorsed the re-election of Alice Ng'ang'a, a position that we consider untruthful, unfortunate and that paints wrongly the true intentions of our respected Party Leader," read part of the statement.
The event to drum up support for the incumbent legislator was attended by at least 16 MPs led by Deputy Leader of Majority in the National Assembly Naomi Shaaban, Esther Gathogo (Ruiru), Alice Wahome (Kandara) among others.
Thika Town parliamentary seat has attracted various aspirants including Patrick Wainaina also known as 'Jungle Nuts', Morris Mburu, Kiama Wangai among others.