Jubilee ruling party has lost its popularity after being ousted in by-elections in its strongholds recently as tensions between President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto are said to worsen the situation.
The party, formed in 2016 after a merger of 12 parties, has lost popularity despite winning 41 of the 47 counties in the 2017 general election.
Jubilee won 171 seats in the National Assembly; 140 seats in a total of 290 constituencies, 25 seats among county legislators and six out of 12 special MPs.
The party was left with only 62 members to run for two-thirds of the 349 members of parliament. The party, led by President Kenyatta, also won 25 governorship seats and has 34 senators out of all 67 senators.
25 of the senators are elected and 10 are nominees.
Political analysts say the situation began to deteriorate in Jubilee after President Kenyatta and his deputy Dr Ruto were sworn in to serve a second term.
Similarly, the party continued to plummet after President Kenyatta reconciled with opposition leader Raila Odinga on March 18, 2018.
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After the reconciliation, popularly known as handisheki, the incumbents of Dr Ruto popularly known as Tangatanga, panicked and started looking for an alternative party for the 2022 general election.
“Tensions at Jubilee stem from President Kenyatta’s need to play politics that will enable him to give up a good reputation when he retires while his deputy promotes hereditary politics. That is why the two politicians are pulling in the opposite direction, ”said Mr Dismas Mokua, a political analyst.
He argues that, as it stands, Jubilee is not the best tool for the 2022 general election because it is associated with poor economic management and instability.
“Kenyans are suffering because of the Uhuru and Ruto regimes which under Jubilee have contributed to the economic downturn, rising cost of living and declining incomes.
“Therefore, it is not surprising that Deputy President Dr Ruto has nominated a new United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party because he wants to distance himself from the Jubilee mistakes,” Mr Mokua adds.
Jubilee, he adds, reminds Kenyans of the economic woes and therefore not the party that any politician would want to use to run for the presidency in 2022.
