Jubilee Secretary General Jeremiah Kioni has cautioned against the continued glorification of regional parties, arguing that they were among the causes of the 2007 post-election violence.

Speaking during an interview on a local radio station on Tuesday, September 30, 2025, Kioni explained that the 2010 Constitution was designed to address this challenge by requiring every registered political party to have support in at least 24 counties.

“Shida ambayo ilitukumba 2007 ni kuwa na vyama vya ukabila ya sehumu fulani, na hio ndio sababu tulipitisha katiba ya 2010 tukasema kwamba chama chochote ambacho kitasajiliwa lazima kiwe na umarufu zaidi ya kaunti 24,” Kioni stated.

He criticised the notion of leaders forming ethnic-based outfits with the intention of bargaining as regional power brokers, saying such an approach threatens national unity. Kioni further noted that the idea of zoning areas under specific parties, as was the case with KANU in the past, has no place in modern Kenya.

“Wale wanasema, ‘We enda utengeneze chama chako cha kwenu, na wewe cha kwenu alafu mkuje tukae kwa Meza kama regional war lords. Hii hatuwezani nayo Kenya. Hii nilikuwa nawakosoa wengi ambao walikuwa wanasema sis kama Jubilee. Hio area ni yangu, hio zoning ni KANU. Hatutaki,’” he added.

He further stated that these trends undermine the spirit of multipartyism that was achieved after a long fight between the opposition and the then-regime that left leaders who fought for it, such as Kenneth Matiba, with devastating effects.

Slamming Gachagua

These come a day after he accused the former Deputy President, Rigathi Gachagua, of trying to bully former interior cabinet secretary Fred Matiangi by telling him not to join Jubilee but to form a village-based party from the Kisii region and use it to negotiate with the united opposition.

He also faulted Gachagua for urging Mt Kenya residents to embrace his Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP), only saying that other parties are clones of the United Democratic Movement (UDA), which are being used by the president to divide the vote-rich region.

Kioni further defended his Jubilee Party, saying that it’s a national party since, according to him, they enjoy support in all the 47 counties, something that has informed their decision to field a presidential candidate in 2027.