A section of aspirants eyeing the Members of County Assembly (MCAs) seats in Ruiru constituency have accused area MP Esther Gathogo of allegedly intimidating aspirants eyeing to unseat her in the forth-coming 2017 polls.
The aspirants allege that Gathogo is using President Uhuru Kenyatta’s name to intimidate competitors.
According to the MCA aspirants, Gathogo is afraid of losing out to candidates who are keen to unseat her in 2017.
Speaking to journalists in Ruiru town on Thursday, the MCA aspirants, Joe Mundia (eyeing the Biashara Ward seat) and Samuel Gatheru (eyeing the Gatong’ora seat) claimed that Gathongo is using President Kenyatta’s name to intimidate aspirants.
“We are telling Gathogo to stop using President Kenyatta’s name to gain influence and intimidate aspirants who are eyeing the Ruiru parliamentary seat,” said Mundia.
Mundia said that every Kenyan has a right to bid for any seat without being intimidated.
“Gathogo feels threatened by the entry of Isaac Mwaura into the Ruiru parliamentary race,” said Gatheru.
The MCAs who were accompanied by some youth leaders in the area said that Jubilee Party nominations will decide on who will be given tickets.
The MCAs also asked aspirants eyeing seats in the area to engage in issued based politics.
“We don’t want to fight against each other because that is not democracy, everyone has to sell out his or her agenda to the people,” they said.
Mwaura recently ditched the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) and has declared interest in the Ruiru parliamentary seat.
Gathogo has however dismissed the claims terming them as propaganda meant to tarnish her 2017 re-election bid. She has vowed to fight for her re-election in 2017. The MP says that she has performed and deserves another term to complete the projects she has started.
The Ruiru MP has been conducting door to door campaigns in her re-election bid.
She is banking on the support of women and youths for her re-election in 2017 as the contest for Ruiru parliamentary seat gets hotter.