In a very competitive environment, a number of candidates in the Jubilee Party primaries that kicked off on April 21 have have found themselves at the centre of dramatic events.

In Kiambu County near Nairobi, candidates have reported to have been kidnapped.

It started with Charles Chege, who is vying for the Kabete parliamentary seat.

He disappeared on April 14, but was found three days later in Narok, some 125km away in a state of confusion.

He said that his “kidnappers” fed him with sedatives for two days making him lose his senses. His bullet-riddled car was earlier found abandoned in the nearby Kiambu Township, giving the impression that he could have been killed by his competitors.

Sensational
Three days later an aspirant for the member of country assembly (MCA) seat in Kiambu County went missing under similar circumstances. Ikinu MCA aspirant Kennedy Kinyanjui Kabaka, was reported missing after his car was found vandalised near his home.

The vehicle, had its windscreen smashed, yet Mr Kinyanjui’s personal effects including two of his mobile phones and cash were found intact inside his vehicle.
Circumstances surrounding the two disappearances are similar and police suspect foul play.

A few days later on April 18, Jubilee aspirant for Ruiru Constituency, Isaac Mwaura, sensationally claimed on his FaceBook account that he had been shot on the ear in an apparent assassination attempt by his opponent.

He posted pictures showing a bandaged ear but later pulled it down after people started questioning their authenticity.

Mr Mwaura claimed he was rushed to, and treated at the Nairobi Hospital after being shot, but some of his opponents suggest he may have been injured after invading his opponent’s rally to cause chaos.

However, other aspirants have adopted legitimate ways of campaigning by branding loaves of bread and distributing the same to would-be voters with the intention of increasing their visibility.