Kevin Kioko, alias Bahati, a Jubilee Mathare MP candidate, has chastised ODM secretary-general Edwin Sifuma for “spreading propaganda” about his candidacy.
According to Sifuna, a joint ODM and Jubilee delegates meeting on Monday resolved to support incumbent MP Anthony Oluoch as the Azimio candidate for Mathare constituency in the August 9 general elections.
“Zoning was done perfectly even here in Mathare we have agreed that it’s an ODM zone. We only have one candidate in Mathare and that is Anthony Oluoch, this young man called Bahati is my younger brother and we will talk. I will make sure that we find him another position within the Azimio government,” Sifuna said.
However, Bahati dismissed Sifuna’s remarks and advised him to stay out of Mathare politics.
He claimed that no one has given the ODM SG the authority to speak on Jubilee’s behalf.
“Who told Sifuna I wanted a job? As far as I’m concerned, I had a job, Sifuna is the only person who didn’t have a job,” he said, citing Sifuna’s failed 2017 bid for the Nairobi senate seat.
“I’m a musician, I’m still trending on the charts,” he added saying a youthful political hopeful shouldn’t be fighting a fellow aspirant.
“If you have decided to back the incumbent, endorse him but don’t mention my name,” the gospel artist added.
“Kaa mbali na siasa za Mathare,” he said.
The mama hitmaker also slammed Youth and Gender Affairs Chief Administrative Secretary Rachel Shebesh for asking him to abandon his parliamentary ambitions.
The CAS cited Westlands MP Tim Wanyonyi, who dropped his gubernatorial bid to back Polycarp Igathe, the preferred Azimio candidate in the Nairobi governor race.
“Why don’t you have a mother’s heart? I’m like your son (and) you go and spreading propaganda against me?” he posed.
Bahati stated that he is running to right the wrongs committed during the tenure of the incumbent MP.
He claimed that the Mathare constituency lacks basic amenities such as public toilets and that some households have not received bursaries.
According to Bahati, nothing will derail voters’ efforts to change the sorry state of affairs on Election Day.
“No kind of intimidation, no bribery no propaganda will change the vote and the mind of the people of Mathare,” he said.
“We have decided that we will change our leadership and the next Member of Parliament is Kevin Bahati Kioko,” he added.
On Tuesday June 28, Bahati and Sifuna traded harsh words on social media following Sifuna’s announcement that Bahati had stepped down in favour of the ODM candidate in Mathare constituency, Anthony Oluoch.
In his words, the ODM SG alleged that he will only accept Bahati’s apology through his wife Diana Marua – this came after the singer lectured him over what he termed as propagating fake news about his candidature.
