Former President Uhuru Kenyatta on Tuesday chaired the
Jubilee Party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting held in Nairobi.
In photos seen by The Star, Uhuru chaired the meeting
virtually, while other members attended in person at the party headquarters.
Jubilee Secretary-General Jeremiah Kioni said the meeting
was a step toward affirming the direction the party will take moving forward.
He added that it was also an opportunity to renew Jubilee’s
founding principles and unity.
“The 4th President of Kenya, H.E. Uhuru Kenyatta, and the
Party Leader of the Jubilee Party, today chaired a National Executive Committee
(NEC) meeting in Nairobi. The meeting marks a significant step in reaffirming
the party’s direction, unity, and renewed commitment to its founding ideals.
#MbelePamoja,” Kioni said on Facebook.
Present at the meeting were Vice Chairman David Murathe,
Organising Secretary Pauline Njoroge, and other top leaders of the party.
The meeting comes about a month after the Registrar of
Political Parties, in a special gazette notice dated June 30, reaffirmed Uhuru
as the Jubilee Party Leader.
The notice also confirmed that officials elected during the
Special National Delegates Convention (SNDC) held on May 22, 2023, were duly
recognised.
Besides Uhuru Kenyatta, the Office of the Registrar of
Political Parties (ORPP) decision brought relief to Jubilee Secretary-General
Jeremiah Kioni and Deputy National Chairperson David Murathe.
The two had been forcefully ousted from their positions,
prompting them to seek legal redress.
The leadership conflict began when a faction led by EALA MP
Kanini Kega and Nominated MP Sabina Chege attempted to take over the party,
expelling Kioni and Murathe and suspending National Treasurer Kagwe Gichohi in May 2023. The faction cited misconduct and failure to discharge party duties.
They also removed Uhuru as party leader and appointed Sabina
Chege as acting leader.
Initially, the Political Parties Disputes Tribunal (PPDT)
sided with Kega’s faction in a ruling delivered on July 10, 2023, confirming
Kega as Secretary-General and upholding the expulsions.
However, High Court Judge Janet Mulwa later overturned the
decision.
She ruled that the February 10, 2023, NEC meeting that led
to the expulsions was not legally constituted and violated the Jubilee Party
constitution.
The court nullified all decisions made at that meeting,
reinstating Kioni, Murathe, and Gichohi to their respective positions.
