Double tragedy: Protesting Governor Wa Iria gets stuck in lift at IEBC offices
They say when it rains, it pours. There has been no respite for Muranga Governor Mwangi wa Iria in the last two days.
First, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) rejected his presidential contest papers, saying he had not presented the legally acceptable number of signatures.
According to IEBC, Governor Wa Iria failed to present the legally acceptable 48,000 signatures from 24 counties. The two-term governor had compiled signatures from 22 counties, of which only those from five counties met the threshold.
Then tragedy struck again on Tuesday when the governor found himself stuck inside a lift for several minutes at Anniversary Towers in Nairobi.
The Usawa Kwa Wote presidential aspirant had visited the IEBC offices to get to know why his name was missing in the official list of presidential candidates in the August 9 General Election when the incident happened.
“I was not given any reasons why they removed my name. I have heard they had a meeting while trying to create a reason, and they sent an officer to tell me privately,” he said.
“My personal thinking is that when we bring signatures here some people are selling them because there is no way you can accept my documents, you don’t give me feedback and then seven days later, when I inquire, you send people to me informally.”
Adamant that his name must be in the ballot, Wa Iria is now threatening to transform his party into a national resistance movement if his demands are not met by IEBC.
“This is not a game… we are not illiterate… I want to tell them one thing: I am in politics. They can play all their games, I will push them all to their end, and if at the end of the day they will not register me, I will convert my party into a resistance movement. They can be sure of that,” he said.