The knives are out in the former ruling party, but Jeremiah Kioni is refusing to bleed. Amid a ruthless purge of Uhuru Kenyatta’s inner circle, the former Secretary General insists his removal is a tactical redeployment, not a political burial.

Jeremiah Kioni, the combative face of the Jubilee Party's resistance, has come out fighting against the narrative that he has been purged from leadership. Following a high-stakes National Executive Council (NEC) meeting chaired by retired President Uhuru Kenyatta, Kioni was stripped of the powerful Secretary General docket and reassigned as "Deputy Party Leader (Operations)." To the casual observer, it looks like a classic demotion; to Kioni, it is a strategic promotion designed to unleash him on the grassroots.

The Politics of Survival

The restructuring is widely interpreted as a move to sanitize the party for potential cooperation with the current administration—a path Kioni has vehemently blocked. By moving him to "operations," the party hierarchy may be attempting to silence his anti-government rhetoric while keeping him inside the tent. However, Kioni dismissed this theory in a TV47 interview, stating, "I chose to focus on what lies ahead." His new role, he argues, will allow him to bypass bureaucracy and engage directly with the electorate ahead of the 2027 General Election.

Rebuilding a Broken Machine

Jubilee is a shell of the behemoth that swept to power in 2017. Years of internal sabotage, defections to UDA, and an identity crisis have left it on life support.

• The Mission: Kioni’s task is now to rebuild the party's engines in Mt. Kenya, a region that has largely moved on.
• The Threat: Analysts warn that without the administrative power of the Secretary General's office, Kioni may find himself a general without an army, shouting orders that no one is obligated to obey.

A Graceful Exit or a New Fight?

The political undertones are undeniable. By removing Kioni from the daily administration, Uhuru Kenyatta is signaling a shift in strategy. Whether this is a prelude to a handshake with the government or a desperate attempt to save the party from extinction remains to be seen. Kioni, however, is not going quietly into the night. "We are moving forward," he declared, a statement that sounds as much like a warning to his detractors as a promise to his supporters.