NAIROBI, Kenya Feb 25 – Businessman Jimi Wanjigi’s hopes of becoming the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Party presidential flag bearer were dashed on Friday after the party’s National Governing Council (NGC) ratified a decision in support of party leader Raila Odinga.
The council’s resolution has dealt a major blow to Wanjigi who has been traversing across the country popularizing his presidential bid under the ODM banner.
Wanjigi has been insistent that he will be on the ballot come August 9 during the General Election.
“I want to assure Kenyans that I will be in the ballot and where I will be is where the next government will be formed,” he said on Tuesday moments after the ODM Party disowned him as one of the delegates.
The Party’s National Elections Board (NEB) Chairperson Catherine Muma confirmed to the delegates who had gathered at the Bomas of Kenya that only Odinga and Governors Hassan Joho (Mombasa), Wycliffe Oparanya (Kakamega) had applied to be the party’s presidential flag bearers with no mention of Wanjigi.
Joho and Oparanya who also double up as ODM deputy party leaders formally withdrew their candidatures in the State House race during the council meeting and threw their support behind Odinga.
“I formally withdraw from the race because I cannot compete with my father. Raila has been my mentor since I joined politics in 2004,” Joho said.
“Raila is my senior brother, and he had more experience than I have and so I will support him,” Oparanya said.
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The latest setback for Wanjigi comes barely two days after the Political Parties Dispute Tribunal (PPDT) threw out a petition seeking to stop the party from conducting its National Delegates Convention (NDC) set for Saturday.
Wanjigi was a no show during the Friday Council meeting that brought together the party’s delegates drawn from various parts of the country raising question on his future in the political scene.
The revered businessman who is currently involved in a gun related brawl with the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) boss George Kinoti has attributed his woes to Odinga and President Uhuru Kenyatta whom he once shared a cordial relationship with.
“The two are in cahoots and have made it their business to stop my presidential bid by whatever means,” he said.
On Monday, the DCI gave Wanjigi 72 hours to surrender 11 firearms and 485 ammunitions he is holding illegally failure to which he will be arrested.
In a letter to Wanjigi, the DCI agency said that their investigations had established that is in possession of firearms and ammunitions that are deemed to be illegally held.
“This criminal investigation has established that you hold 10 (10) Firearms of different makes and description as described below and which act of possession is in contravention of the Law as on 5th December 2018 the Cabinet Secretary for Interior and Coordination of National Government Dr. Fred Matiangi gave a Moratorium for Mandatory Vetting of Civilian Firearms Holders,” said Kuria Obadiah a Superintendent of Police attached to the DCI’s serious Crime Unit.
“Since then, there has been no indication or evidence of you having attended the said Mandatory Vetting as required by the Cabinet Secretary,” he added.
As of Thursday it was still unclear if Wanjigi had surrendered the guns.
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Wanjigi maintains that that the court had cleared him following an order that the weapons were legally his.
“The High court pronounced itself on the matter in 2019 and declared that my ammunition were legal.I cannot answer to Interior CS Matiangi after the court pronounced itself on the matter. High court quashed the charges against me after finding the case pressed against was done out of bad motives,” said Wanjigi.
