Karachuonyo MP James Rege has said he will defect to the Jubilee Party on Saturday.
The MP said he is unlikely to secure an Orange Democratic Movement party ticket in the nominations.
The Jubilee Party, President Uhuru Kenyatta’s re-election vehicle, will be launched on Saturday at Safaricom Kasarani Stadium.
Mr Rege told the Nation that he knows that he is a political outcast in the region because of his dalliance with Jubilee.
“I know I won’t get [the] ODM ticket, I must therefore seek another party,” said Mr Rege.
Mr Rege made the announcement even as ODM leader Raila Odinga dared rebels to leave the party.
Mr Odinga, announcing that the new face of the party will be launched Saturday, said the rebels would be replaced by “more popular leaders.”
Speaking at the Eshitinji grounds in Lurambi constituency on the third day of his tour of Kakamega County, Mr Odinga described ODM as the only party that has stood the test of time and has offices in every county.
He said he is not shaken by Saturday’s Jubilee Party launch, saying Cord is ready to face them in the 2017 general election.
The Cord leader was speaking a day after National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale claimed that 40 members from the Cord coalition, including 35 MPs and five governors, were set to join the Jubilee Party during its official unveiling Saturday.
-nation.co.ke
