 |
| Cecily Mbarire and Speaker Justin Muturi when she declared that they are 'connected' |
Friday 21st April, 2017 was a day that many all over Kenya had eagerly waited for, more so those with political interests; be it aspirants on the Jubilee Party ticket, their respective supporters or same seat contenders on other parties’ tickets.
It however turned into a day that political temperatures hit sky-high, with a wave of adrenalin surge elicited by barely veiled tension, fear and anxiety sweeping across the ruling party’s strongholds. The aura of euphoria that had dominated the eve of the D-Day, till dawn, slowly turned into apprehension, anger and frustration as the election got mercilessly delayed in most counties.
 |
| Jubilee Party Secretary General Raphael Tuju announces the cancellation on national television |
It ended up with the Jubilee Party cancelling the primaries countrywide, when Secretary General Raphael Tuju ordered voting and tallying stopped immediately. This decision was deemed to be the most apt, given the logistical hiccup that led to chaos all across the nation. In some areas, it was hell, fire and brimstone. In effect, the party called off the primaries in eleven counties; voting dates to be announced soon.
 |
| Angry voters burn ballot papers in Nakuru after the nominations were postponed |
EMBU
Intel had revealed that some dishonest persons had been hired by unscrupulous politicians to get hold of the JP ballot papers beforehand, whereby they corrupted the whole system, with some polling stations receiving fewer papers and others getting none at all.
In Embu County, like in several other places, one of the two contenders in the gubernatorial race, Runyenjes MP Hon. Cecily Mbarire is said to have declared to her inner circle that she had already won even before voting began, as she considers herself to be one of Uhuru’s cronies. Little did she know that her camp had long been infiltrated by the incumbent governor’s intelligence network and some extremely vigilant agents had been deployed to be on the watch, and who in turn reported on what they had learnt concerning Hon. Mbarire’s plot to rig the election. Her false claims were not taken kindly by President Kenyatta, who later summoned the party’s officials, probably to decide on how to deal with such characters who tarnish the good name of the president for their own selfish gain.
