Wambugu hints at moving to court over election loss

Nyeri Town MP Ngunjiri Wambugu could be heading to court to challenge the constituency's poll results after he lost his seat to Duncan Mathenge of the United Democratic Alliance (UDA).

Mr Wambugu (Jubilee) garnered 11,808 votes against his opponent’s 41,111.

In a series of Facebook posts, Mr Wambugu questioned how Nyeri Town had voter turnout of 64.3 per cent, claiming that the elections were rigged.

"So Nyeri had nearly 70 per cent voter turnout? Really? Even stealing requires intelligence good people. Premium tears loading," he said.

According to Nyeri Town constituency returning officer Paul Mauta, 56,039 people voted out of the registered 89,000.  

As he aired his displeasure, residents urged him to move on and accept he had lost but he asked them to relax, saying "election disputes are not about who has the best insults as we will see in the coming days".

Mr Wambugu is one of the Mt Kenya legislators who remained loyal to President Uhuru Kenyatta after his March 2018 handshake with Azimio presidential candidate Raila Odinga.  

He is the one who started the Kieleweke narrative against their Tangatanga counterparts, a stance that deepened the split among Mt Kenya leaders. 

The expression came from President Kenyatta when he chided some leaders who were crisscrossing the country campaigning years before the election period started.

The Kieleweke narrative was meant to marshal supporters of Mr Wambugu to protect Mr Kenyatta’s political bedroom.

This was Mr Mathenge’s fourth attempt at the seat.

"I have a sense of gratitude and excitement that finally after four attempts, the people of Nyeri have to entrust me with representation,” he said in a media interview after he received his certificate at the Nyeri Polytechnic constituency and county tallying centre.

“It’s a bittersweet feeling and a bit of nostalgia that it has taken this long to get to this point."