Governor Wambora beats Mbarire in Embu Jubilee poll

Embu Governor Martin Wambora has been declared the winner of the Jubilee Party ticket in a dramatic nomination that saw a returning officer whisked from hospital in the wee hours of Thursday morning.

Mr Wambora garnered 60,634 votes against his sole contestant, Runyenjes MP Cecily Mbarire who got 43,509.

He secured huge wins in Runyenjes and Manyatta constituencies, securing a total of 52,291 votes to eclipse Ms Mbarire’s 12,977 in the same region but lost the Mbeere vote by managing a paltry 8,343 against Ms Mbarire’s 27,532.

In the senatorial race, former Cabinet minister Njeru Ndwiga clinched the Jubilee Party ticket after garnering 56,305 votes against his closest rival, Geoffrey Ruku Kiringa, who got 30,183 while Mr Alexander Mundigi managed 6,630.

There was drama as police tried to whisk county returning officer Kenneth Kamenchu out of Embu Level Five Hospital at around 1am where he was being treated after being injured by aspirants who were demanding for their nomination certificates.

INJURED

Mr Kamenchu was bitten on a finger bite and was injuries on the head after being attacked by aspirants from Runyenjes.

Ms Mbarire, together with her husband, Dennis Apaa, Embu County Speaker Kariuki Mate, Mr Ruku and other supporters tried to block the police from removing Mr Kamenchu from the hospital in one of their vehicles.

However, Embu West Police Boss Francis Sang called in a contingent of police officers and ordered Ms Mbarire’s supporters to clear the way and drove the polls official to the Kangaru School tallying centre under heavy security.

STORM HOSPITAL

Earlier on, Ms Mbarire and her supporters had mobilised youths to storm the hospital where they beat up the Mbeere South returning officer Joyce Mwangi, accusing her of manipulating results.

Ms Mwangi was rescued by officers who took her to a police station with Ms Mbarire and her supporters in hot pursuit.

“They beat me up and even stripped me naked accusing me of doctoring the results.

“I was briefing Mr Kamenchu since he was the one to read the results.

“I was with him at the hospital briefing him on what had happened. The results I had were already in public domain and clearly showed Ms Mbarire was leading by a huge margin,” said a shaken Ms Mwangi at the Embu Police Station.

During the ensuing melee, two men who had been called to flush out the poll officials sustained fractures as they fled from the police.

Jubilee regional coordinator Abraham Limo condemned the attack on Mr Kamenchu and Ms Mwangi saying they would take disciplinary action against the culprits.

A triumphant Mr Wambora and Mr Ndwiga promised to work together to popularise the Jubilee Party and mount campaigns for President Uhuru Kenyatta’s re-election.