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Waititu joins Nairobi gubernatorial race

By Hillary Kimuyu December 29th, 2020 1 min read

Former Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu was on Monday cleared by the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties (ORPP)to contest for the Nairobi gubernatorial seat.

Waititu’s next step is now to convince the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) that he has all the required qualifications to replace embattled Mike Sonko.

The Nairobi gubernatorial seat fell vacant in December after Sonko was impeached by the county assembly and the decision upheld by the Senate over corruption charges.

Interestingly, Waititu was also impeached in a similar fashion earlier this year and it will be interesting to see how he handled the IEBC hurdle.

He, however, remains optimistic.

“I have been cleared by the Registrar of Political Parties to vie as an independent candidate as the next Governor of Nairobi. There is no election law that can (sic) bar me from contesting for the seat because I am only a suspect of an economic crime because no court has ever convicted me,” he told the Nation.

Waititu joins eight other aspirants eyeing the Nairobi seat, including Canada-based lawyer Miguna Miguna.

Jubilee Secretary General Raphael Tuju has also indicated that former Dagoretti South MP Dennis Waweru and businesswoman Agnes Kagure had shown interest in the seat.

“We got two aspirants. We shall vet the names and have only a competent and able candidate that will help us retain the Nairobi seat that was Jubilee’s,” said Tuju.

Others who have declared interest include former assistant minister Margaret Wanjiru, Liberal Democratic Party founder member Dennis Kodhe and Kimori Machoka, a former County Executive Committee Member under Governor Evans Kidero.

The list from the Orange Democratic Movement remains unclear but reports indicate that Sam Wakiaga (former Homa Bay Governorship contender) and Beth Siengo (ODM Women League leader) were interested in the ticket.