Koinange family: Two descendants of the late colonial Chief Koinange Wa Mbiyu are set to lock horns in the battle to succeed their kin, the late Kiambaa MP Paul Koinange in the upcoming Kiambaa by-election.
Lena Koinage who is the daughter of the late powerful minister Mbiyu Koinange and her niece Damaris Wambui have declared interest in the coveted Jubilee Party ticket.
Already the family has taken sides by endorsing Lena as their preferred candidate in the by election in a move that complicates Damari’s bid.
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Through its spokesman Leonard Karuga, the family revealed that 10 members of the family were interested in the seat but they had agreed to support Lenah who has also been endorsed by a section of the elders.
Lenah’s endorsement by the Koinange Family places Damari’s candidature in limbo since she was among the first entrants in the race, having declared her bid a day after the funeral of the late MP who died on March 21 at a Nairobi hospital due to Covid -19 related complications.
Damaris, a Kiambu County Liaison officer who previously worked with the Jubilee party during the 2017 elections will be making her first debut in active politics and already; she is enjoying backing from some of the county government officials at the sub-county level.
The division in Koinange's family on who will replace the fallen legislator comes after another aspirant for the seat registered his aversion over a current trend where widows are picked by political parties to succeed their husbands.
The aspirant, Charles Munyui, called on the ruling party, Jubilee, to conduct a transparent and fair primary in Kiambaa to pick their candidate in the race to the late Paul Koinange’s seat.
A governance expert, Munyui also urged other parties to abandon the trend of settling on widows and relatives of fallen politicians as flagbearers in political contests.
