The battle to take charge of Jubilee Party has opened up after Deputy Party Leader Jeremiah Kioni offered himself to succeed former President Uhuru Kenyatta, putting him on a collision course with a camp backing presidential candidate Fred Matiang’i.
Kioni announced his bid on Tuesday, shortly after the High Court cleared the legal path for Uhuru to step down as Jubilee leader. The development has brought the party’s succession question to the centre of its preparations for the 2027 General Election.
Uhuru welcomed the court decision and said he was willing to hand over the party leadership through a process provided for in the Jubilee constitution.
His continued stay at the helm had been linked to a prolonged dispute within the party that slowed down the transition. He eventually regained control of Jubilee in March 2025 following a lengthy struggle between rival factions.
The court has now established that a retired president cannot continue holding a formal leadership position in a political party for more than six months after leaving State House.
Justice Lawrence Mugambi, however, made clear that the ruling does not prevent a former president from remaining a member of a political party. The restriction applies specifically to occupying an official party leadership position.
With Uhuru's exit now set to take place, Kioni has presented himself as a candidate for the position, insisting that Jubilee must follow its formal structures when choosing its next leader.
"In light of His Excellency's call for an open, transparent and lawful process ... I offer myself for the position of leader of the great Jubilee Party, Kioni said.
He opposed any attempt to settle the succession through an informal agreement, saying the decision should be made by the party's delegates.
"Jubilee is a national party. Our leaders are not installed, they are elected at the National Delegates Convention," he said
The declaration has complicated expectations within the camp supporting Matiang'i. His allies had been counting on his status as Jubilee's presidential candidate and his political profile to give him an advantage in the succession to Mr Kenyatta.
Kioni's entry into the contest has instead raised the possibility that the positions of party leader and presidential candidate could be occupied by different people.
Although Jubilee has lost much of the political strength it enjoyed when it was the ruling party, it remains relevant to opposition and coalition politics as parties and political leaders position themselves for the 2027 election.
The leadership contest also has a financial side, given the resources attached to the party.
Records from the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties show that Jubilee received about Sh240.4 million from the Political Parties Fund during the 2017/18 financial year.
The allocation increased to Sh434.6 million in 2018/19, Sh564.2 million in 2019/20 and Sh515 million in 2020/21 before reaching Sh1.02 billion in 2021/22.
The party's share has since reduced as its electoral support declined. For the 2026/27 financial year, Jubilee has been allocated Sh128.86 million.
"The money is only part of the attraction. Control of the party means control of its organisational machinery, membership structures, brand and the authority to negotiate its place in the shifting alliances ahead of 2027" political observer Geoffrey Mboya says.
The succession fight is unfolding as political parties face deadlines to put their internal affairs in order ahead of the next General Election.
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) and the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties have set timelines for parties to regularise their structures.
Jubilee and other parties are required to submit the names of their authorised persons and specimen signatures to the IEBC by October 15.
The parties must also submit their nomination rules to the commission by November 6, after the rules have been certified by the registrar.
The timelines present Jubilee with an additional challenge as it attempts to complete its leadership transition while addressing disputes that have emerged from previous changes to its officials.
The party is therefore heading into a critical period with its leadership succession, internal structures, finances and political role all likely to shape its direction before the 2027 election.