Governor Kimemia changes running mate over legal technicality
Nyandarua Governor Francis Kimemia (centre) with newly picked running mate Isaac Gitura (left) and dropped running mate Joseph Mbugua in a joint press briefing to announce the swap.
Nyandarua Governor Francis Kimemia on Saturday night dropped his running mate Mr Joseph Mbugua to meet the legal conditions and deadline by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
It emerged that by the time of his appointment, Mr Mbugua was still the Regional Director of Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KERRA).
Mr Mbugua was picked about two weeks ago after Deputy Governor Ms Cicilia Mbuthia tendered a resignation letter requesting the governor to appoint a new running mate.
Unveiling his new running mate Saturday May 28 night, Mr Kimemia attributed the move to a legal technicality, saying it was after consultations with his legal team.
Mr Mbugua is now replaced with Mr Isaac Gitura, a quantity surveyor.
“My legal team has advised that Mr Mbugua had not resigned from the civil service six months before the appointment as required by the law,” Mr Kimemia said.
The current legal position of IEBC is that public servants who had not resigned six months before the General Election cannot be considered for the position of running mate.
This follows the fact that the High Court of Kenya did not determine the application that sought to set aside the six months conditionality and instead deferred the matter to June 2022.
“Given the stipulated legal deadline by IEBC, I was duly advised to replace Mr Mbugua,” Mr Kimemia added.
He that the newly appointed running mate’s name has been submitted to the IEBC by the Jubilee Party.
“After further consultation with Mr Mbugua, I have the pleasure of introducing Mr Gitura as my new running mate. His name has already been submitted to IEBC by the Jubilee Party. Mr Gitura is an experienced Quantity Surveyor, with a proven track record,” said Mr Kimemia.
He described Mr Gitura as one of the professionals from Nyandarua who has made an immense contribution towards the greater good of the county.
Mr Gitura hails from Matundura Village in Engineer Ward, Kinangop Sub County, and, like Mr Mbugua, Mr Gitura is expected to bring colossal expertise to assist Governor Kimemia in his transformation journey if elected for a second term.
The running mate holds a Bachelor of Building Economics (Quantity Surveyor) from the University of Nairobi (UoN) and is currently pursuing a Masters’ degree in Construction Management at UoN.
He is an alumnus of Starehe Boys Centre and a member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators, and a practicing Arbitrator.
“Mr Gitura will be very instrumental in actualising our affordable Housing project envisaged in our manifesto. He has been involved in several social programmes and actively participated in community initiatives aimed at making the county great,” said Mr Kimemia.
Mr Gitura is said to have participated in and raised funds for various community projects, schools, dispensaries, youth and women groups’ initiatives in Kinangop Constituency, giving him the platforms to campaign and consolidate votes for his boss.
