UPA face a major obstacle in growing the party and this is deeply rooted in the party leadership.
The people of gusii region have come out to blame the leadership for the dilly dallying tactics in line with the party growth. Some of the loopholes noted include the following;
1. There was a shambolic consensus while denying aspirants their right for nominations.
2. The panel constituted a team of aspirants and that’s considered quite unprofessional.
3. The panel were compromised with money bribes by a number of those receiving tickets at UPA HQ. There’s evidence to support a number of these cases.
4. The UPA leadership never gave a special recognition to aspirants who are equally life members of the party during the launch in Nyamira. Some aspirants lacked seats at the VIP area and some were harassed by the party leader’s security detail for sitting at the VIP area reserved for them!
These among other challenges faced by aspirants haven’t been addressed by the party leadership.
The questions for many is on why your fellow aspirant would offer to refund you 50,000(meant to cover your registration fees) so that you step down? Isn’t the party supposed to cover such a sensitive issue? When you receive the 50,000 does it mean that you cease being a UPA life member since part of that cost is covered under membership!
Why would the panel under instructions from above accept these terms without checking how they settle with fellow aspirants who were targeted to step down? Would those aspirants who formed the panel be okay with such terms if they were the ones being forced to step down under such humiliating terms and conditions? That’s;
a) step down in favor of your opponent
b) support him/her
c) he/she will refund you 50,000
d) Matiangi will give you a job and your wife/husband will be nominated.
5. Some aspirants went to other parties after sensing that the party won’t have nominations(let alone free and fair nominations) and the tickets would be issued based on who got to bribe the panel and party leadership!
The party is therefore subject to swimming onto an awful start yet the leadership doesn’t seem concerned at all. Members suggests that if this party is to succeed, the leadership should be approached and the challenges highlighted, and hence demand proper attention in order to move forward as a team and avoid losing life members to other parties.
These challenges among others should be presented to the party leadership as a way of seeking a favorable ground for all and better treatment to all aspirants who felt shortchanged in the just concluded disorganized and illegal consensus exercise (as per the advise from learned friend who’s an advocate of the high court, Hon Dennis Anyoka, MP aspirant West Mugirango). He further advised that, if any of the aggrieved aspirants filed a petition, the certificate issuance exercise would be rendered null and void)