Jubilee Deputy Party Leader Jeremiah Kioni has admitted that he was disappointed after missing out on the party’s top leadership position, saying his ambition had upset some people within the party.
Kioni’s remarks come days after former President Uhuru Kenyatta handed over the party’s leadership to former Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i on Tuesday, September 22 at the party’s headquarters in Nairobi.
Speaking during an interview on Thursday, Kioni said some party members were unhappy with his decision to express interest in leading Jubilee, including individuals he had not expected to oppose his ambition.
“Some people were unhappy with the fact that I expressed a desire to be the Jubilee Party leader. Some of them are people I never expected to be unhappy. What is criminal about wanting to be MP for Ndaragwa?” he asked.
The former Ndaragwa MP said he had also imagined himself becoming the party leader, but was disappointed when the position went to someone else.
“Mimi mwenye nilikuwa naota nikiwa Jubilee Party leader,” he said, adding that he had hoped to secure the position.
“The fact that it did not come to me, I was disappointed,” he added.
Kioni, however, maintained that his ambition was not intended to create divisions within Jubilee or put him at odds with other party members.
“I’m not fighting anybody in Jubilee. I’m only saying what I have said for the past three years. I mentioned Matiang’i’s name even before he had any thoughts of running,” he said.
He also appeared to question the party’s political direction following its decision to join the United Opposition, saying the move had affected Jubilee’s course.
“We lost our way after joining the United Opposition,” Kioni said.
The former MP explained that his bid for the party leadership was consistent with the competitive nature of politics, where members are entitled to seek positions but must also contend with the outcome when their ambitions are not realised.
“I had already put in my request to be considered for the position of party leader of Jubilee, and that’s in keeping with politics. The fact that it did not come to me, I was disappointed, of course, because in politics, when you aspire for something, you don’t get it, you are disappointed,” he said.
Kioni’s remarks come amid changes in Jubilee’s leadership as the party positions itself ahead of the 2027 general election.
