Kiambu Governor William Kabogo concedes defeat

Kiambu Governor William Kabogo casts his ballot during Jubilee Party nominations at St. George's Primary School on April 21, 2017. He conceded early defeat to rival Ferdinand Waititu. PHOTO | JEFF ANGOTE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • He alleged that he had submitted a memorandum to the Jubilee Party officials listing the irregularities from disappearing ballot papers, to partisan polling officials, something the Party reportedly promised to check before nominations began.
  • Mr Kabogo spoke just after ten polling stations filed their results showing Waititu leading him by about 8,000 votes.
  • The two sued each other over academic papers with Mr Kabogo claiming the Kabete MP never attended University in India as claimed.

Kiambu Governor William Kabogo last evening conceded defeat in the Jubilee Party primaries to his bitter challenger Ferdinand Waititu, even before the final results were announced, but dismissed the nominations as a sham.

He spoke moments after the tallying of votes had started with results from various polling centres putting the controversial Kabete MP ahead, remarking that “Waititu would most probably be the next Kiambu governor.’’

Even as the flamboyant governor wished his rival well, he remarked that Kiambu people “deserved better.” However, said he did not agree with the results because there had been “obvious” irregularities.

The governor, who called a news conference at his Garden Estate secretariat shortly after 7pm, claimed that Mr Waititu had been seen with returning officers at a secluded meeting on the eve of the nominations, and a car was reportedly later found stuffed with ballot papers for the governorship race.

The governor alleged that he had submitted a memorandum to the Jubilee Party officials listing the irregularities from disappearing ballot papers, to ‘partisan polling officials, something the Party reportedly promised to check before nominations began. That didn’t happen, he told reporters.

DON'T AGREE

“It has been a long journey in Jubilee and I have done my best. But since it seems like there are huge powers that need to keep me away, I am saying that for now I am doing what it is that that memorandum said: I don’t agree with these nominations,” he told journalists.

“Rumours are that I am a threat to someone. I don’t know whether that is true but as fate will have it, you bite it one step at a time. So I want to say I don’t agree with this nominations. The petition is with the party, the party can do whatever it is that they deem fit to do.”

Mr Kabogo spoke just after 10 polling stations filed their results showing Waititu leading him by about 8,000 votes.

At St George’s Primary School in Ruiru, which is his polling centre, Governor Kabogo got 469 votes against Mr Waititu’s 870 while at Igegania Primary School polling centre Mr Waititu go 1, 292 votes against Mr Kabogo’s 202.

Mr Kabogo spoke just after 10 polling stations filed their results showing Waititu leading him by about 8,000 votes.

IGNORED

According to the governor, he had petitioned the party over alleged irregularities ahead of the poll, which he said touched on the credibility of the process, but despite assurances from the party leadership, his grievances were ignored.

Earlier in the day, Mr Kabogo, after casting his vote at St George's Primary School in Ruiru, said he was sure of a win saying he never loses in battles.

The governor, without mentioning names claimed that there were powerful people who do not want him remain as the next Kiambu governor.

However, to the individuals who want him out of the political field, he said "they have deal with it", since it's not the first time it's happening to him.

"Even in 2007, the late Michuki (late Kangema MP) did not want me to be a member of parliament," he said.

The governor, was however non-committal on his next move, saying he could either be on the ballot on August or not.

WASTE TIME

On why he jumped so early to concede, the Governor who has been campaigning with one of the rarest armoured cars in town argued it was “obvious” the trend of the results won’t change.

“If you love novels, when you read one sentence, you would know what the next will lead to," he remarked.

“I am not going to waste my time arguing with what is obvious,” he added.

The nominations in Kiambu had been postponed from Friday, following what the Party said were logistical challenges. But the County, President Uhuru Kenyatta’s home area, was seeing one of the fiercest rivalries for the County Governor’s seat.

Mr Waititu, a loser for the same seat in 2013 in Nairobi, shifted his based to Kabete following the death of Kabete MP George Muchai in February 2015, so he could establish local popularity.

The two sued each other over academic papers with Kabogo claiming the Kabete MP never attended University in India as claimed. The case was thrown out last December only for Waititu to file claims demanding compensation from the case.

On Friday, Mr Kabogo alleged ballot papers had disappeared. On Tuesday evening, he claimed he had found the Kabete MP with the county elections coordinator and presiding officers in a secluded meeting with the Governor’s aspirant.