Jubilee Leadership Battle Shifts To NDC As Kioni Declares Bid

By Our Correspondent

The contest to take over the leadership of Jubilee Party is shaping up for a decisive test at the National Delegates Convention (NDC), with Deputy Party Leader Jeremiah Kioni declaring his interest in the top position and insisting that the next leadership must emerge through the party’s established democratic structures.

Kioni made the declaration in a statement, issued after former President Uhuru Kenyatta indicated that he was ready to facilitate the transition of the party leadership following a High Court ruling on the political activities of retired presidents.

The declaration places Kioni at the center of the succession question in a party that has been led by Uhuru since its formation and whose leadership has been the subject of prolonged internal and legal battles.

“I hereby offer myself for the position of Party Leader of the great Jubilee Party, in accordance with the party’s constitution, processes and procedures,” Kioni declared.

The statement signals that Kioni wants the succession question settled through a formal party process rather than through an appointment or an informal handover.

His declaration also comes at a politically significant moment for Jubilee, which has been navigating internal divisions since Uhuru

left the presidency in 2022. The latest court decision has now provided fresh impetus for the party to address the question of its formal leadership.

Kioni argued that Jubilee’s history and constitution require its leaders to be chosen by party delegates, placing the NDC at the heart of the next phase of the transition.

“Jubilee is a national party and a former ruling party. As such, our leaders are not installed, they are elected by the party delegates at the National Delegates Convention (NDC),” he said in a statement to newsrooms.

The position could set the stage for an internal contest if other senior Jubilee officials express interest in succeeding Kenyatta. Kioni said he would engage members and delegates across the country as the party charts what he described as its next chapter.

The leadership question has been complicated by a separate legal battle over whether a retired president can continue holding a formal leadership position in a political party.

Justice Lawrence Mugambi dismissed a constitutional petition challenging Section 6 of the Presidential Retirement Benefits Act, which bars a retired president from holding office in a political party for more than six months after leaving the presidency.

The petitioners had argued that the provision violated constitutional protections relating to equality, freedom of association and political participation. The High Court, however, found the restriction constitutional.

The court drew a distinction between political participation and formal party leadership. It held that a former president remains free to belong to a political party and participate in political activities but cannot continue holding a formal party leadership position beyond the period prescribed by law.

Justice Mugambi also considered the historical circumstances surrounding the enactment of the provision, including concerns about former heads of state retaining significant political influence after leaving office.

“I do not think that this provision has outlived its usefulness,” Justice Mugambi said.

The court’s decision did not appoint a successor to Uhuru or direct Jubilee on who should take over. Instead, it clarified the legal position surrounding the continued occupation of formal party office by a retired president, leaving the actual succession process to Jubilee’s constitutional structures.

The ruling has therefore shifted attention from the courtroom to Jubilee’s internal organs, with the NDC expected to play a central role in determining the party’s next leadership.

Uhuru subsequently welcomed the court decision and signaled that he was prepared to facilitate the long-delayed transition.

In a statement issued through his office on Tuesday, the former President said the ruling should not be interpreted as shutting him out of political activity. His office described it instead as a reaffirmation of Kenya’s democratic maturity.

“The court’s ruling is not a restriction on his political life; it is a reaffirmation of our democratic maturity,” his office said.

The former President’s office also maintained that the delay in the Jubilee handover had not been caused by unwillingness on his part, but by an internal dispute that required legal clarification.

Uhuru has previously said that Jubilee had begun a constitutional transition process before the legal disputes disrupted it. In May, he told party delegates in Kiambu that he was already in the process of handing over the party leadership and had wanted members to be allowed to elect their leaders.

The latest statement now appears to clear the way for that process to resume, with the party constitution and its delegates likely to determine the next phase.

“With the court’s guidance, that path is now clear,” the Office of the former President said.

For Kioni, the immediate task will be to take his case to Jubilee members and delegates across the country.

His statement thanked Uhuru for his leadership of both Jubilee and the country, while expressing confidence that the former President would continue providing guidance during the transition.

The Deputy Party Leader said he looked forward to engaging members and delegates as the party charts its next chapter, suggesting that the leadership contest could now move from internal maneuvering to an open mobilization of delegates.

The developments also revive questions about Jubilee’s political direction ahead of the 2027 General Election. Once a dominant governing party, Jubilee is now operating from the opposition side of Kenya’s political divide and remains part of the wider Azimio political establishment.