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Amani National Congress (ANC) party leader Musalia Mudavadi yesterday criticised leaders, who are turning Kibra by-election into “a contest between tribes”.

Speaking in Kibra during a campaign tour for the party flag bearer Eliud Owalo, Mudavadi dismissed Orange Democratic Movement’s (ODM) assertion that the constituency is their “bedroom”.

“Kibra people deserve respect. Voters should be left to vote for the leader of their choice; this is no one’s bedroom,” he said.

Mudavadi said Kibra residents deserve a visionary leader regardless of ethnicity.

“When we showed interest to front a candidate for the seat, I was under pressure to consider a Luhya but I was not convinced. Owalo is a leader who will work to liberate Kibra people from poverty,” he said.

ODM has fronted Benard Imran Okoth, a brother of the late area MP Ken Okoth, as their flag bearer.

Mudavadi poked holes into the integrity and suitability of some of the candidates, singling out Jubilee Party’s MacDonald Mariga.

Political tourists

He termed some contestants as political tourists, who are only in Kibra for personal interests.

“Some candidates such as footballer MacDonald Mariga have never voted in Kenya. He does not understand your predicament,” he said.

He termed Mariga’s candidature as “dead on arrival”.

This is even as Mariga’s fate in his quest to vie for the Kibra seat hangs by a thread after the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC)  said he was not a registered voter.

IEBC’s dispute tribunal will make a ruling today on whether he can run for the seat.

At the same time, Mudavadi did not have a kind word for FORD Kenya candidate Khamisi Butichi, terming him a political non-starter who failed to clinch the Ikolomani parliamentary seat in 2017.

Ford Kenya is led by  National Super Alliance (Nasa) coalition co-principal Moses Wetang’ula.

Owalo said his priority would be to streamline the NG-CDF.