Reuben Kigame casts fresh doubt on intergrity of 2022 polls
By Freya WanjikuRenowned gospel musician and 2022 presidential aspirant, Reuben Kigame has maintained that the August 2022 general elections were not fair.
While responding to a post on X, Kigame further suggested that late President Mwai Kibaki’s government received more support than the Kenya Kwanza government when coming to power.
“There was no fair election in 2022 even if God’s name is evoked,” he said.
Months leading to the presidential election, Kigame was locked out of the race by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) with the then chair Wafula Chebukati saying he failed to meet the requirements for presidential candidates.
He would then challenge the decision in a court saying IEBC discriminated against him and that the commission had provided no credible explanation for his disqualification.
Additionally, Kigame said he had met the requirements to stand as an independent candidate, gathering 48,000 signatures and voter IDs from across the country. “It was like I was a non-entity,” he said. “It’s really sad that I’d have to fight for inclusion like this.”
As a result, shortly after the elections, Kigame ‘corrected’ US Ambassador to Kenya Meg Whitman’s remarks that Kenya’s 20222 elections were free and fair.
In a post on his X account, Kigame wrote, “I want to tell the whole world including the United States and President William Ruto that the 2022 Kenya elections were not free and fair at all. You can wish and pretend they were, but you know the truth and by the way, it’s not about Azimio 2022 losing.”
Kigame continues to be a vocal critic of the current ruling government, consistently highlighting what he perceives as excessive religious emphasis, burdensome taxation, and the soaring cost of living.
He noted that during President Ruto’s inauguration, the evangelical wing of the church was ever-present, something he said was ‘unnecessary.’
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