Mathare MP Stephen Kariuki after a vote cast. Photo: The Star/the-star.co.ke
On Wednesday, former Gatanga MP Peter Kenneth submitted his nomination papers for the Nairobi gubernatorial seat at the Jubilee Party headquarters in Pangani as he sought to topple the incumbent, Governor Evans Kidero.
The move is a clear indicator that the consensus discussions that contending Jubilee leaders were to have of picking a single candidate to unseat Kidero have collapsed.
Senator Mike Sonko, Dennis Waweru (Dagoretti South) and former Starehe MP Margaret Wanjiru have all declare their interest for the seat.
Nominated MP Johnson Sakaja will now vie for Nairobi senate seat.
Kenneth was flanked by majority of Jubilee legislators at the Pangani headquarters, notably MPs Maina Kamanda (Starehe), Rachel Shebesh (Women Rep- Nairobi), Steve Kariuki (Mathare) and John Kiarie (Dagoretti South-aspirant).
However, the presence of Kariuki at the function has led to a lot of hypothesis from political pundits, who think the first time Mathare MP may have politically betrayed his mother, Bishop Wanjiru, who also announced her bid for the Governor seat.
This is not the first time that Kariuki has demonstrated publicly his support for Kenneth, five months ago while speaking on Radio Maisha, he said Kenneth stands a higher chance of being elected compared to other aspirants.
"I welcome Kenneth's bid for the Nairobi seat and I am confident Nairobi residents will support him," he said.
Is young Kariuki betraying his mother or just exercising his democratic right, nothing personal?