A section of Jubilee supporters in Kericho County have abandoned the party's candidate for the forthcoming Senatorial by-election race for being unmarried.
The supporters led by a former Councillor and area women representatives, vowed to shift their support from Jubilee Allance Party's (JAP) Aaron Cheruiyot to KANU's Paul Sang since the latter could not be considered a Kalenjin elder due to his marital status.
The leaders further expressed their discord with Cheruiyot vowing to teach Jubilee a lesson for imposing on them an imported nominee they said hailed from Nakuru County.
“We will ensure Sang wins to serve as a lesson to Jubilee against rigging the young man in during the nominations. Our stance of supporting Sang is here to stay no matter how many times Ruto comes here to campaign for Cheruiyot. The March 7 by-election is our opportunity to strike back. It will be a new dawn, the cock (KANU) will crow,” the leaders said collectively.
Speaking at Siret Trading Center in Kipkelion West , the group pledged their loyalty to KANU, claiming that Jubilee leaders had interfered with the nomination exercise by rigging in Cheruiyot who is reportedly related to immediate former Senator Charles Keter.
"We have decided to give Jubilee a short break until the 2017 general election. Until then, we are going to campaign and vote the KANU candidate to take the Kericho senatorial seat as Jubilee puts its house in order," said Mr Richard Bii, a former Councillor.
29-year-old Cheruiyot was nominated to represent the party on March 7 in a hotly contested race, following the resignation of Keter who was appointed as Energy Cabinet Secretary.
The little-known former Moi University student shocked many when he floored area political giants Magerer Langat and Franklin Bett to become JAP's flag bearer.
