POLITICS
By Winfrey Owino | Jun 7th 2022 | 2 min read
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has cleared Murang’a Senator Irungu Kang’ata for the Governor race.
Kang’ata has been cleared alongside his running mate Winnie Mwangi, a former lecturer at the University of Nairobi.
While clearing the duo, Murang’a County Returning Officer Saumu Chirchir dismissed allegations that Mwangi had failed to resign from his previous job on time.
She was a lecturer at the University of Nairobi for more than 25 years before being chosen as Kang'ata's running mate.
The law required public servants eyeing political seats in the 2022 General Election to resign and make public their bids by February 5.
Kang’ata, who markets himself as “Kang’ata wa barua” was yesterday dealt a blow after a letter by a voter became an obstacle to his bid to vie for the governor's seat.
He had appeared before the County Returning Officer in Murang’a to present his papers when he was informed that a voter had alerted authorities that his running mate Dr Winnie Mwangi did not resign from her University of Nairobi job in time.
The pair were shown a petition attached to a letter from Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission.
In his defence, Kang’ata said the IEBC did not reject their papers yesterday. He clarified that they delayed presenting the papers to look into an allegation by an anonymous voter.
“IEBC DID NOT reject our papers or refuse to clear us. We did not present our papers. We sought time to study an objection letter filed by a consortium of aspirants through their lawyer. We are not filing any suit. Once we study the letter, we shall present our papers,” he tweeted.
Kanga’ata will run for Murang’a County Governor on a UDA ticket.
