Ngirita had announced her defection from Deputy President William Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance (UDA) to Jubilee Party.
However, Jubilee Party stated that Ngirita must present clearance certificates from the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) before seeking the party ticket.
Ngirita was a key suspect in the NYS scandal of 2015 where the country lost over Ksh1.2 billion to rogue suppliers who were mostly paid for jobs not done.
Jubilee Party told kenyagist.com that it was following the law strictly this time and more candidates will be affected by the rules.
“Chapter 6 on integrity is one of the key elements that have informed our decision and this does not only apply to her. It’s going to be uniformly applied to all aspirants seeking various positions,” Jubilee Party Communications Head, Albert Mwemusi, told kenyagist.com.
If Jubilee Party had accepted Ngirita’s defection, it would be a blow to President Kenyatta’s war on corruption.
Ngirita told the press that her decision to vie on a Jubilee Party ticket was made after Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party leader Raila Odinga urged members who had defected from the Azimio La Umoja movement to go back to its affiliate parties.
“Yes I was in UDA but I exited the party. This is because Raila urged those who had defected from his party to return home and I felt like the prodigal child. Moving to UDA was out of peer pressure. Hence, I will vie for the Nakuru Woman Representative seat,” she stated.
Ngirita’s was at the centre of the NYS saga after she was implicated in receiving Ksh60 million for supplying nothing to the Service.
The court heard that the Ngirita family and associates were involved in the saga which cost the taxpayers Ksh400 million.
“Between them, they received approximately Ksh400 million from NYS and used some of the money to acquire the properties which constitute proceeds of crime. Evidence shows that on the periods they received the money, they went on a spending spree to hide their theft,†Judge Mumbi Ngugi ruled.
Source: KENYAGIST.COM
