Starehe MP Charles Jaguar Cries Foul After UDA Issues a Nomination Ticket to Simon Mbugua

Starehe MP Charles Njagua Kanyi, alias Jaguar, says he will announce his next move after the UDA party denied him a ticket to defend his seat.

On Thursday, the Deputy President William Ruto-led party issued a nomination ticket to East Africa Legislative Assembly (EALA) MP Simon Mbugua to vie for the Starehe parliamentary seat in the August 9th elections.

Through Twitter on Friday, the musician-turned-politician accused the party of denying the people of Starehe the opportunity to choose their leader.

“The people of Starehe were denied their democratic right to go to the ballot again for the nominations and choose their leader. The party decided to carry out opinion polls to decide whom to award the nomination certificate and it has been done,” Jaguar lamented.

UDA canceled nominations in Starehe constituency last week over violence, with the party’s National Elections Board (NEB) Chairman Antony Mwaura announcing that they will use alternative methods (consensus or opinion poll) to pick candidates.

Jaguar says he will be holding discussions with Starehe residents to decide on the way forward.

“I will be holding discussions with the people of Starehe and decide on the way forward. The voice of the people matters,” he stated.

Jaguar, who was elected on a Jubilee ticket in 2017, ditched the ruling party in January and joined UDA. He won the seat after garnering 52,132 votes ahead of ODM candidate Steve Mbogo (32,357) and prominent activist Boniface Mwangi (13,413).