The Bomas of Kenya management has confirmed closing the venue for scheduled repairs, thus, deterring Jubilee Party from holding its National Delegates Conference (NDC) scheduled for Monday, May 22.
Speaking to Kenyans.co.ke, an insider at the Bomas of Kenya confirmed that the closure was pre-planned and not meant to curtail Jubilee’s plans as perceived.
“The closure for repairs was pre-planned and was not for political reasons. There will be no events for eight weeks,” stated the insider.
According to reports, Bomas would be closed up to mid-July 2023.
On Wednesday, May 17, the Jubilee Party wing allied to President (Rtd) Uhuru Kenyatta issued a statement insisting that the NDC will happen and also called out people collecting names for the NDC adding that those people are fraudsters.
"It has come to our attention that there are nefarious individuals going round purporting to collect names for our NDC.
"Please note that as a party we are not involved in any collection of names or monies ahead of our NDC," read the statement seen by Kenyans.co.ke.
"We want to assure the delegates of Jubilee that an NDC will be there on Monday. We have secured another venue, we have actually secured two more venues," stated former MP Jeremiah Kioni.
The former Ndaragwa MP blamed government agents for blocking the NDC. Unscrupulous officials were further accused of collecting names and data for the NDC despite not representing the party.
On April 30, Uhuru called for a special NDC to formulate new policies and receive a status report from the National Executive Committee (NEC).
Uhuru Kenyatta and his Jubilee wing were yet to respond to Bomas' closure by the time of publishing this article. It was yet to be disclosed whether Uhuru would seek an alternative or suspend the NDC.
Jubilee is facing leadership wrangles, with one faction arguing that Uhuru remains the party leader while another team claims that the Nominated MP, Sabina Chege, succeeded him.
The dispute began after Chege was appointed the party leader by the faction led by East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) MP, Kanini Kega, who claimed to act as the secretary general.
His decision was contested by, Jeremiah Kioni, the secretary general who represents Uhuru Kenyatta's faction.
While battling to retain his seat as party leader, Uhuru's efforts to call for an NDC also hit a snag after former nominated Member of Parliament, Hassan Osman, on May 8, sued Uhuru and the Jubilee Party, lamenting that the meeting was announced illegally.
Osman asked the court to nullify Uhuru's NDC meeting, which he complained targeted expelling Ruto allies from the party. Jubilee had suspended Kega and Sabina Chege to counter the Kega faction directive, which expelled Kioni and Jubilee's vice chairperson, David Murathe.
Kega further summoned Uhuru for a disciplinary meeting, with the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties (ORPP), piling pressure on the former President to honour the summon.
Wrangles within Jubilee escalated after Uhuru, on April 26, showed up at the Jubilee Party headquarters in Kileleshwa, Nairobi, to protect Kioni from the Kega faction, which battled to control the premises. The former President ordered rebels to exit the party.
"Anyone who wants to leave a party can join another. We have no quarrel with anyone. We want to guard our party, and those who do not want, are free to leave,” lamented Uhuru.
The landlord who leased the property to Jubilee demanded the party to exit from the premises, accusing it of causing disorder in the lavish suburb. Jubilee, however, denied receiving such an order.
