One of Deputy President’s main targets for election defeat in 2022 is Jubilee Secretary General and Ndaragwa MP Jeremiah Kioni.
It has emerged that Mr Ruto wants to hand a resounding defeat to MPs running on the Jubilee Party as a way to assert his political authority in the vote rich Mt Kenya Region.
Mr Ruto has now decided to pick George Gachagua , a water Engineer, to run against Kioni.
Gachagua was a key player in the 2017 elections and narrowly lost to Kioni during the Jubilee Primaries which were postponed for three days sparking rigging claims.
“Yes, we have settled on one candidate although we have two candidates so far,” said an official of the UDA Elections Board.
The only other aspirant who has applied and paid nomination fees to UDA is Simon Ng’ang’a Unicore , a former Water and Environment Executive in Governor Francis Kimemia’s Cabinet.
The aspirant exited the County Government under a cloud of corruption mystery in the water projects and could face a challenge of clearance by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC).
“After a careful consideration of the aspirants, Engineer Gachagua emerged the better suited candidate to challenge Kioni who will enjoy the rolling Party machinery,” said the UDA official.
Kioni, who was keen to drop his bid due to party duties, is said to have changed his mind and will be getting a direct ticket from Jubilee Party to run for Ndaragwa seat.
