I’m confident of retaining seat, says Taita Taveta’s Mruttu

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has cleared Taita Taveta Governor John Mruttu to defend his seat as an independent candidate after resigning from ODM.

Mr Mruttu has also retained Deputy Governor Mary Ndigha as his running mate in the August elections.

He said he retained Ms Ndigha because he has confidence in her.

Mr Mruttu also said he is confident he will retain his seat in the coming elections despite being disappointed by his former party.

ELECTED BY PEOPLE

“I was elected by the people and not by the party so I am confident that they will elect me again,” he said.

Addressing journalists after being cleared by IEBC County Returning Officer Festus Mucheke at the commission’s nomination centre in Mwatate, the governor said he is now focused on winning the race.

“I cannot continue to dwell on the past. I am now focused on marshalling support from the electorate to win the seat,” he said.

However, Mr Mruttu was issued with a temporary certificate after a technical hitch hit the IEBC Internet server.

Mr Mucheke said the system failure started in the morning but was optimistic that it will get back to normal in the course of the day.

He said the certificate issued to Mr Mruttu was legally valid and asked the candidate to collect the printed version within two days.

“We checked his details and found that [they are okay] but the system failed when we wanted to print the certificate and his sample ballot paper,” he said.

MWADEHGU TURNED AWAY

Wundanyi MP Thomas Mwadeghu, who is also vying for the seat, was however turned away after his running mate's documents showed different names.

Mr Tairo Loliang'a name on his Identity card did not match the name on his academic documents.

His academic papers bear the name Richard Tairo Loliang'a while his Identity card bears the name Tairo Loliang'a.

Mr Mucheke declined to clear the candidate but directed them to obtain a sworn affidavit from the Commissioner of Oaths confirming that he is the same person indicated in the documents.

FOLLOW LAW

“It is a legal requirement that all the names in the presented documents match. We cannot bend the law because someone can challenge it in court,” he said.

Mr Mwadeghu's persistence to be cleared despite the mismatch in the names was turned down as the returning officer insisted that he follows the commission’s procedures.

However, he downplayed the errors in the documents saying it was a small issue.

Others expected to appear for clearance on Thursday are Jared Nzano (independent) Erastus Katan (independent) and Emmanuel Kisombe (independent).

On Friday Dan Mwazo (Jubilee) Jecinta Mwatela (ANC) Dalmas Simba (independent) and Granton Samboja (Wiper), will seek IEBC clearance.