Roots Party leader George Wajackoyah explains why he invoked Raila Odinga’s name during his Kisumu campaign tour.
The Kenya Kwanza presidential candidate, Deputy President William, is expected to launch his manifesto today after concluding his county economic forums.
Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja and Taita Taveta Governor Granton Samboja return to the docks to defend their bids for the Nairobi and Taita Taveta governor seats, respectively, after petitioners go back to court challenging their academic qualifications, again.
Here is all you need to know about Kenya’s striking political events as of June 30.
DP Ruto expected to unveil manifesto today
DP Ruto will unveil his manifesto today, the culmination of county economic forums that the Kenya Kwanza alliance has held across the country.
Dr Ruto, who is leaving nothing to chance in his bid to succeed his boss President Uhuru Kenyatta, has been traversing the country collecting views from Kenyans on what they expect from him if he is elected President on August 9.
“The Kenya Kwanza coalition will launch its manifesto tomorrow, Thursday, June 30 … from 6.30pm,” read a message from his presidential communication director Hussein Mohammed yesterday.
“The event will be the culmination of the most extensive public engagement exercise for a policy document in post-independence Kenya, outside the Constitution of Kenya Review Commission process.”
Before he held the forums starting early this year, the DP went on a charm offensive in different regions and met professionals to draft the economic blueprints of their regions.
Governor Oparanya springs to the rescue of Azimio la Umoja candidate seeking to succeed him
Kakamega Governor Wycliffe Oparanya has stepped up Azimio la Umoja One Kenya coalition campaigns in the county to counter the Kenya Kwanza onslaught as the battle for the governor’s seat intensifies.
Mr Oparanya announced that Azimio presidential candidate Raila Odinga is expected to kick off his campaigns in the region on July 9.
He joined the campaign forays to try to step up the momentum of the governor’s contest following a sustained push from the rival Kenya Kwanza camp.
Mr Fernandes Barasa, a former managing director of Ketraco, is battling it out with Kakamega Senator Cleophas Malala for the governor’s seat.
Mr Barasa has been on the campaign trail but has struggled to pull in crowds to his rallies in some areas.
The entry of Governor Oparanya and other Azimio leaders and candidates appears to have dramatically shifted the ground, opening up a tight race for the seat.
Senator Malala (ANC), who is facing a legal challenge over his academic qualifications, has traversed Kakamega’s 12 sub-counties to popularise his bid. He has promised to address unemployment among the youth and create a special fund to advance loans to small-scale traders.
Governor Oparanya said candidates from parties in the Azimio coalition will not be forced to withdraw from the race in support of preferred candidates.
“Let candidates who are in Azimio fight out for the seats and meet at the ballot [box] on August 9. There will be no zoning in Kakamega …,” said Mr Oparanya at a rally at the Mutoma grounds in Butere constituency.
What is important for Azimio in the region, he said, was to intensify the vote hunt for Mr Odinga to ensure he clinches the presidency.
I will build a beautiful house, entertain Kenyans with my billions frozen by the current regime once elected: Gachagua
Kenya Kwanza presidential running mate Rigathi Gachagua yesterday said his bank accounts will be unfrozen if the alliance captures power in the August 9 polls.
The accounts were frozen in 2020 as the government questioned the source of Sh12.5 billion that passed through them.
Speaking in Konyu ward in his Mathira constituency, Nyeri County, Mr Gachagua said he was certain the accounts would be given a clean bill of health if Kenya Kwanza took over power.
“You all know the current government has frozen all my bank accounts. When our government gets to power and I become the Deputy President, I know my accounts will be unfrozen, I know my salary will increase,” he said.
Mr Gachagua also promised to build a “state house” in Konyu ward where he would meet locals and have a good time with them.
“I will build a good house in this ward where we shall be enjoying regular meat eating and drinking sessions with local men. My wife will also have her place where she will be meeting with other women,” Mr Gachagua said, before quipping, “Is that okay with you people?” The crowd answered “yes” in unison.
The Mathira MP pledged to raise his donations to churches tenfold if his alliance forms the next government.
He said: “I thank the church because if it were not for prayers, I would not have been elevated to this position. I promise that when I get there I will increase my donation to churches from Sh100,000 that I have been donating to Sh1 million. I know God will bless me more.”
Ruto, Raila avoid each other at meeting with Chebukati
Deputy President William Ruto late coming to yesterday’s morning session of the electoral agency’s critical consultative meeting with presidential candidates at the Windsor Hotel in Nairobi did not go unnoticed.
Only Azimio la Umoja One Kenya presidential candidate Raila Odinga, George Wajackoyah (Roots Party) and David Waihiga (Agano Party) attended the morning session chaired by Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chairman Wafula Chebukati.
Dr Ruto arrived shortly before 11:45am flanked by Tharaka Nithi Senator Kithure Kindiki. Interestingly, Mr Odinga and his running mate Ms Martha Karua left the meeting soon after the DP’s arrival.
“We’re sorry for leaving the meeting early but duty calls,” Ms Karua announced before exiting the room.
The two opposing sides met outside for a handshake before DP Ruto entered the room and the Azimio pair left for the day.
Earlier, Dr Ruto, who was attending a Kenya Kwanza economic forum in Tharaka Nithi, was represented by his campaign secretariat head, Turkana Governor Josphat Nanok, and UDA secretary-general Veronica Maina.
Mr Nanok said Dr Ruto was away attending an event and would not attend the event.
“Our candidate has a scheduled meeting earlier which he is attending but we are here to represent him.
“He had planned to come but the timings for this meeting changed,” Mr Nanok said.
But Mr Chebukati responded that the time had been set for 9am and nothing had changed.
Mr Odinga and Mr Waihiga were accompanied by their running mates Martha Karua and Ruth Mutua, respectively.
Mr Chebukati announced that the commission would hold a national election conference on July 11-12 at the Jomo Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC).
I have no secret pact with Raila- Wajackoyah clarifies
Roots Party presidential candidate George Wajackoyah clarified that he has no secret deal with Azimio la Umoja One Kenya leader Raila Odinga even as he continues to feud with the church over marijuana.
Prof Wajackoyah said his recent defense of the former Prime Minister on the campaign trail in Kisumu was aimed at wooing residents to give him an ear while deflecting any possible political intolerance that others had faced in the region.
In an interview with NTV on Wednesday, he said that despite praising Mr Odinga, he is not a project of the Azimio honcho, saying the latter and Deputy President William Ruto are part of the establishment.
“I was in Raila’s backyard. People have been stoned there and when he saw me sleeping on the car, I was dreaming. In my dream, because I’m very spiritual, I was talking to Raila …,” he said.
“I was asking him: Do you want me to die in Kisumu because this is Kondele? Ruto was stoned here, do you want me to die here? I [had] never spoken to Raila since I left the UK, until two-three years ago, when I met him with Junet Mohamed when I was passing by the Serena hotel.”
Exuding confidence that he would trounce both DP Ruto of the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) and Mr Odinga in the August 9 polls, Mr Wajackoyah dismissed the latest opinion polls, saying that he was more popular than his competitors and that “sane” Kenyans are supporting his State House bid.
“I don’t believe in those polls that are doctored. And that’s why I say that, once I take over power, we shall review those foreign companies that come to mine money. I can’t be seven percent; I could be 75 percent. I’m not a donkey. Well, I’m a donkey as they say, but I’m not third-class,” he said.
Mr Wajackoyah slammed religious leaders who have been asking Kenyans not to elect leaders who are encouraging drug abuse, asking them not to “engineer” ignorance.
Fresh lawsuit to block Sakaja from vying for Nairobi Governor
Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja is not yet out of the woods over clearance of his governorship candidature even after the Commission for University Education (CUE) withdrew its letter revoking recognition of his degree certificate.
A voter yesterday filed a fresh petition at the High Court in Milimani seeking to bar the electoral commission from printing ballot papers for Nairobi gubernatorial race until the suit is concluded.
Mr Dennis Wahome, in a case he also wants certified urgent and heard expeditiously, maintains that the senator is not eligible. He alleges that the degree certificate acquired from Team University, Kampala, is bogus.
“Mr Sakaja’s assertion that he is a graduate of Team University is factually incorrect, baseless and unsupported. The assertion is further contradicted by his own public declarations categorically stating that he has never attended any university outside Kenya.”
Through lawyer Njoki Mboce, the voter has premised his case on declarations made by Mr Sakaja in the Nomination Application Declaration Form submitted to Jubilee Party on March 9, 2017, when he indicated that he held a degree from the University of Nairobi (UoN). In another self-declaration form submitted to the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission in 2017, the politician also indicated that he had a degree from the UoN.
“In both forms, there was no mention by Mr Sakaja of any other degree from any other university, including Team University. Therefore, any indication, including by the elections returning officer that Mr Sakaja was cleared on the basis of a university degree obtained from Team University, Kampala, Uganda, is highly contradictory,” says Mr Wahome.
He escalated the dispute to court after the electoral agency’s dispute resolution committee dismissed his complaint against Nairobi polls returning officer’s decision to clear Mr Sakaja’s bid.
“If this petition is not certified urgent and determined forthwith, there is a danger that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) will proceed to include Mr Sakaja’s name on the ballot papers for the Nairobi governor election prior to the determination of the issues raised,” lawyer Mboce says.
“Sakaja’s inclusion [on the ballot papers] would be gravely prejudicial to the petitioner and the residents of Nairobi County as Mr Sakaja is a legally and constitutionally unqualified person.”
She stated that the IEBC has a statutory obligation to authenticate documents presented by aspirants and that the decision of its dispute resolution committee to dismiss her client’s complaint was flawed. The complaint was dismissed on June 19.
“Mr Sakaja does not possess a university degree as required by Section 22(2) of the Elections Act, hence is a legally and constitutionally unqualified person,” said Ms Mboce.
New case filed to block Samboja gubernatorial bid
A voter who had challenged Taita Taveta Governor Granton Samboja’s academic qualifications but lost the case before a panel of the electoral agency sued yesterday to stop him from vying.
Mr Jeremiah Kiwoi filed the case in the Constitutional and Human Rights Court in Nairobi to challenge the validity of the governor’s university degree.
In the petition filed under a certificate of urgency on June 28, Mr Kiwoi, through his lawyer Manasses Mwangi, wants the governor declared ineligible to run for the governor’s seat for lack of integrity.
In the motion, the governor and the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) are listed as the first and second respondents.
Mr Kiwoi also listed Kenyatta University, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), Kenya National Examinations Council (Knec) and Kenya National Qualifications Authority (KNQA) as interested parties.
In his affidavit, Mr Kiwoi said the EACC had stated it had investigated the governor’s degree he ran for governor in 2017 and established that it was forged.
He stated that the EACC had established that the governor had breached the law by holding that he had a degree, diploma and certificate from Kenyatta University.
“EACC investigations established that the first respondent was of questionable integrity for fabricating academic certificates. Kenyatta University responded that the first respondent did not graduate from the institution and therefore the academic certificates in his possession were forgeries,” he stated.
He accused the governor of violating the provisions on leadership and integrity.
“The Constitution singles out integrity as one of the national values and principles and governance that binds all state organs,” he stated.
In seeking clearance from the IEBC for his 2022 reelection bid, Mr Samboja submitted certificates from Costa Rica University.
The petitioner wants the court to order the Commission for University Education to verify whether Costa Rica University is an accredited institution in Costa Rica and properly verify his certificates and present them in court.
He argues that residents are likely to be duped into electing a candidate who is unfit to stand for any elective position, claiming that the governor used fraudulent means to be cleared in 2017.
The petitioner wants the court to order Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Noordin Haji to ask Inspector-General of Police Hillary Mutyambai to also investigate the governor’s degree.
He also wants the court to stop the IEBC from declaring the governor nominated and not to gazette his name for the coming elections. BY DAILY NATION