Africa-Press – Kenya. United Democratic Alliance (UDA) has employed a consistent method to defeat the Jubilee Party in 3 consecutive by-elections in a span of only 7 months.
A UDA endorsed independent candidate defeated the ODM candidate endorsed by President Uhuru Kenyatta in Msambweni, UDA emerged winners over Jubilee party in Juja, and now in the just concluded Kiambaa by-election.
According to political analyst Martin Andati who spoke to Kenyans.co.ke, UDA employed well-organized tactics which made them triumph over Jubilee.
In Msambweni Feisal Barder defeated ODM’s Omar Boga, George Koimburi won in Juja against Jubilee’s Susan Waititu, and John Njuguna beating Jubilee’s Kariri Njama.
Andati argued that UDA in all three elections run very organized campaigns and rallies, unlike Jubilee which had different groups.
The analyst stated that UDA assigned agents in all polling stations to pick forms and forward results to the command center which was run by blogger Dennis Itumbi. Itumbi used the information to run a parallel tallying center to that of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
The results shared by Itumbi through different social media channels created a ripple effect that UDA used to counter-attack Jubilee and watering down their influence. The team under the leadership of Itumbi also propagated a lot of propaganda regarding the three consecutive elections which Jubilee failed to match.
In the specific case of Kiambaa, Andati further claimed that UDA approached the likes of the former Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale who appealed to a section of the Luhyas living in the region.
Jubilee on the other side, in all the elections it lost, failed to keep one organized team to run the campaigns, and also the use of civil servants such as chiefs and police cost them a lot according to Andati.
On the future of Jubilee, the analyst stated that the Jubilee Party will have a lot of questions to answer especially after investing heavily and losing in a contest that was considered as a battle between Uhuru and his Deputy William Ruto.
He interpreted the win for UDA as punishment for President Kenyatta who seemingly lost ground in his backyard. It however further soils the relationship between the top leaders.
