Quincy Timberlake | |
---|---|
Personal details | |
Born |
Homa Bay, Kenya |
22 April 1980
Nationality | Kenyan |
Political party | Platinum Centralizer and Unionist Party of Kenya (PlaCenta Party of Kenya) |
Spouse(s) | Esther Timberlake (m. 2010) |
Residence | Kallangur, Queensland, Australia |
Occupation | Engineer, musician, political activist |
Website | placentapartyofkenya |
Quincy Zuma Wambitta Timberlake (born 22 April 1980) is a Kenyan political activist and former presidential candidate, now resident in Australia. Along with Esther Arunga and Joseph Hellon, he is the co-founder of the PlaCenta Party (Platinum Centraliser and Unionist Party) of Kenya, which according to its manifesto aims "to promote and protect individual rights and freedoms set forth in the Kenyan Constitution and to limit the scope of national government authority and spending."
Timberlake came into the public eye after announcing his political ambitions in 2010 and declaring that he would run for the Lang'ata Constituency before the promulgation of the constitution. He later announced that he would contest the 2017 presidential election.
The PlaCenta Party of Kenya was founded by Hellon, Timberlake and Arunga while they were still members of Hellon's Finger of God church. Hellon later broke ties with the couple, claiming they had attempted to defraud him.
According to the party website, Project Take Back Kenya is an effort to break the rotational pattern of parties replacing names but featuring the same politicians at every election. The party's stated objective is to "thrash the elite stranglehold on liberty, uniting Kenya's culturally diverse patriots who embrace traditional family values and restoring freedom of worship and expression."
In 2010 Timberlake announced his intention to run for Prime Minister in the 2012 elections. A new Constitution was passed in the same year, bringing major amendments to the governing structure of the country. Timberlake then shifted his goal to contesting for the presidency. A number of court charges followed, which would have hindered him from contesting according to the law. Timberlake abandoned his presidential ambition and contested the seat of Lang'ata, the former PM's constituency.
In February 2010, Hellon, Timberlake and Arunga announced their entry into politics under the umbrella of the PlaCenta Party of Kenya, with Hellon contesting for the presidency and Arunga for the seat of Karachuonyo Constituency and as a contender for the seat of Deputy President. On the same day that they made the announcement, Arunga resigned from her job as a news anchor at Kenya Television Network. Within hours of the announcement, Arunga and Hellon were arrested for being members of an illegal society, the Finger of God, an evangelical church which Mrs Timberlake had attended for a year. The church had been registered as legal by the government 5 years previously. Computers and laptops were destroyed, documents confiscated and vehicles impounded. Timberlake was also arrested; while the rest of the group was released on bail after 2 days, he and Arunga were held in police custody. They both claim to have been isolated and tortured. Timberlake spent months behind bars but was finally released with no charges in May 2011. Arunga, who had previously broken off her engagement to another church member, married him on 3 March while he was still in custody.