The Service Party (TSP) leader Mwangi Kiunjuri has explained why he is not too enthusiastic about attending Sagana 3 meeting to be hosted by President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Kiunjuri stated that he will only attend the meeting if he is invited by President Kenyatta. He explained that for him to attend, the meeting must also have a clear agenda for the Mt Kenya region.
The former Cabinet Secretary clarified that if the meeting will only be a Jubilee only affair, then he will not be attending.
Kiunjuri explained that the President was keen on bolstering the Jubilee Party whereas TSP is an independent party that has its own plan adding that the agenda for the meeting should be well stipulated.
"As TSP, if invited by the Head of State to forge a way forward for the region, we will attend with the agenda set out clearly to us," Kiunjuri stated.
"We are alive to the fact that no one will win this alone so we will either form a coalition before or after the polls which we will decide. For now, it is still too early,” he added.
The former CS for Agriculture further argued that there was no problem with political parties forming coalitions like Azimio La Umoja or Kenya Kwanza. He noted that coalitions should be encouraged for better working among leaders.
"It is true that many candidates are seeking our party's ticket to evade nominations in the other big parties. However, this is because the era of voting for one party for all elected positions is over," the TSP leader stated.
In 2021, Kiunjuri revealed intricate details of his perceived strained relationship with Deputy President William Ruto as well as why he turned down an assured running mate slot.
Kiunjuri stated that his decision to insist on his own political party was inconvenient but strategic as it would guarantee the Mt Kenya region was respected in the event Ruto was elected President.
The TSP party boss noted that there were many of his colleagues in the Mt Kenya region who were following UDA blindly because of being given handouts and perks such as campaign choppers and a running mate position.
The former ally of Kenyatta turned foe stated that if he had sought to be the running-mate slot, he would have dissolved TSP and joined the Ruto-affiliated outfit, the United Democratic Alliance (UDA).
