3 aspirants drop bids to back Mbaru

Their action, the three added, is also targeted at uniting their party ahead of nominations scheduled for Thursday/FILE

Nairobi Central Business District Association (NCBDA) chairman Timothy Muriuki, former Kasarani Member of Parliament Lee Muchiri and Chege Waweru of The National Alliance say they believe Mbaru’s business experience is what the capital city needs.

“This is a county of business and all the residents here are engaged in business in one way or another,” Muriuki said.

Their action, the three added, is also targeted at uniting their party ahead of nominations scheduled for Thursday.

“We have always lost to our opponents in Nairobi county because we’ve always been divided,” Muchiri said adding that he lost to Elizabeth Ongoro of (ODM) in the 2007 election for this reason.

“I was a candidate in Kasarani with PNU (Party of National Unity) and lost to Ongoro because we had seven in our house against one.”

The three also urged Embakasi MP Ferdinand Waititu and former Nairobi Town Clerk John Gakuo to drop their bids for the TNA nomination and support Mbaru.

“We are also calling upon our two other competitors who are left to join us; to humble themselves because only one of us can sit on this seat.”

Muchiri also insisted the three had not been ‘bought out’ by Mbaru and had in fact not met him even once face-to-face to negotiate dropping their bids.

“We have not been coerced in any way. I personally, Lee Muchiri, have not met Jimnah Mbaru in any occasion and therefore nobody should get the idea that we have been given something to shed our ambitions.”

They also said none of them were interested in being Mbaru’s running mate should he get the TNA nomination but Muchiri is going for a lesser position.

“I have only shed that ambition for a lesser ambition,” Muchiri said refusing to reveal just yet what position that could be.

The former MP expressed confidence that with their supporters behind Mbaru, he should have no problem clinching the nomination.

“We have agreed to support and rally our supporters behind one Jimnah Mbaru for the position of governor of this beautiful city of ours.”

About The Author

OLIVE BURROWS

With a decade of storytelling under her belt, Olive Burrows has been with Capital FM for the last four years and perhaps most notably interviewed US President Barack Obama. Committed to asking the hard questions and telling the story in the most engaging way possible, she has also interviewed Melinda Gates, a UK Minister and severally had the opportunity to sit across from President Uhuru Kenyatta and address the pressing issues of the day. Other notables she has had occasion to seek answers from are UN Secretary General António Guterres and John Kerry in his time as US Secretary of State.

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