Nakuru Governor quits gubernatorial race, to support Lee Kinyanjui

Nakuru Governor Kinuthia Mbugua has stepped down from the gubernatorial race in favour of Jubilee nominee Lee Kinyanjui.

President Uhuru Kenyatta made the announcement on Saturday during a meeting with Nakuru leaders at State House in the county.

The Nakuru governor lost Jubilee ticket for governor to Mr Kinyanjui, the former chairman of the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) and a former assistant minister in the Mwai Kibaki government.

Mr Kinyanjui garnered 216,385 votes and Mr Kinuthia polled 150,137 votes.

Mr Kinuthia disputed the results citing discrepancies in some polling stations. He appealed the the poll results before he announced that he will be contesting for the seat as an independent candidate.

According to the governor’s political advisor Ezekiel Kesendany, his decision to retain Mr Ruto as his running mate had cost him the Jubilee nomination ticket. Mr Kesendany claimed in an interview with Nation that the governor had ignored advice to replace his running mate who is said to have lost touch with the populous Kipsigis sub tribe on the ground.

The region overwhelmingly voted for Mr Mbugua in the 2013 General Elections. But results of the Jubilee Party primaries exposed a huge split in their voting pattern.

In Kuresoi North Mr Kinyanjui had 20,217 votes while Mr Mbugua had 10,750. In Kuresoi South Mr Kinyanjui had 16,133 while Mr Mbugua had 12,189.

On Friday, the the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) cleared seven candidates to vie for the Nakuru gubernatorial seat including John Mututho (Independent) Lee Kinyanjui (Jubilee Party) and Isaiah Gichanga (Independent) a first-timer in politics.

On Thursday, IEBC cleared four aspirants, Governor Kinuthia Mbugua (Independent), Dr Peter Koros (Chama Cha Mashinani) and Ben Njoroge Paul (Kanu).

Governor Mbugua had picked Dr Peter Ketyenya as his running mate after his deputy, Joseph Ruto, chose to remain in Jubilee.