Provisional results in the Muguga ward by-election show Jubilee candidate Joseph Githinji is in the lead.
Our reporter at Karuri High School tallying centre has captured an IEBC screen showing Githinji leading with 4,089 votes.
He was followed by UDA's Peter Thumbi with 4,062.
These figures were from 29 out of 29 polling stations in the ward, with counting still going on....
Updates:
6.20pm: Security heightened at Muguga Primary ahead of vote counting
Security has been heightened at Muguga Primary where vote tallying is expected to start amid allegations that some unnamed people are planning to transport stuffed ballot boxes into the station.
5.20pm: Polling stations closed in Kiambaa
1:55pm: IEBC chair Wafula Chebukati addresses the press on the ongoing process; warns against any attempts to disrupt Kiambaa and Muguga by-elections.
1:50pm: Jubilee candidate Joseph Githinji votes at Kahuho Uhuru High School during Muguga Ward by-election. He expressed confidence in securing the seat after heated campaigns.
11:30am: Murang'a Woman Representative Sabina Chege and Kieni MP Kanini Kega speak at Gachie, exude confidence that Jubilee's candidate Kariri Njama will emerge as the winner in today's poll.
11:20am: Jubilee Party candidate in the Kiambaa by-election, Kariri Njama, casts his vote at Gachie.
11:00am: UDA candidate John Njuguna Wanjiku arrives at Thindibwa polling station to cast his vote.
9:25am: Jubilee Majority Leader and Kipipiri MP Amos Kimunya ejected by a group of rowdy youths from Kimuga Polling Station.
9:10am: Peoples Party of Kenya candidate Peter Njoroge Mugo casts his vote at Muguga Primary School. Four candidates are battling it out to find a replacement for Eliud Ngugi who died in March.
8:30am: UDA candidate Peter Thumbi Kamau casts his vote at Muguga Primary School. He is vying for the Muguga MCA seat.
6:00am: Polling stations open in Kiambaa Constituency.
There was low turn out at Wangige primary for the Muguga ward by-election.
Muguga by-election
The Muguga Ward by-election was occasioned by the death of area MCA Eliud Ngugi.
Ngugi died on March 16 of Covid-19 complications while undergoing treatment at the Kenyatta University hospital.
The late Ngugi was elected to the seat in 2017 under the Jubilee Party ticket.
Muguga ward is in Kabete Constituency, Kiambu County.
Kiambaa by-election: The journey
The Kiambaa parliamentary by-election was prompted by the death of Paul Koinange who was serving his second term after being elected in 2013 and 2017.
Koinange died of Covid-19 while undergoing treatment. He was buried at his ancestral home in Kiambaa on April 4th 2021.
The Kiambaa campaigns have been hot in the last 21 days with Jubilee-allied members and UDA-leaning MPs and senators fanning out in the populous county.
The contest has been billed as a supremacy contest between President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Deputy William Ruto.
The two teams have well-oiled online teams which tore into each other in a vicious propaganda war.
So important is the by-election that the deputy president at one time camped in the constituency campaigning for the UDA candidate.
The two camps have spared no resources to campaign for their respective candidates. The teams have crisscrossed Kiambaa wards in droves day after day.
The Jubilee team lead by Limuru MP Peter Mwathi who succeeded Paul Koinange as the chairman of Parliamentary Select Committee on Security, Kieni MP Kanini Kega and social media influencer Pauline Njoroge met often to strategise on how to help the jubilee candidate to bag the seat.
The team would meet and dispatch high-powered campaign contingents across the constituency in trucks and SUVs. The team would set base in the vote-rich Ruaka, Banana, Cianda, Karuri, Gachie and Ndenderu areas.
On the other hand, the UDA team led by Mathira MP Rigathi Gachagua, Kikuyu MP Kimani Ichungwa, Muranga Senator Irungu Kangata and Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro mounted formidable campaigns.
Quick facts on the Kiambaa by-election
There are 95,413 registered voters and 154 polling station
Candidates
1. Njama Wainaina Kariri-Jubilee Party (JP)
2. Wanjiku John Njuguna- United Democratic Alliance (UDA)
3. Gichia Evans S. Wainaina-People’s Party of Kenya (PPK)
4. Kamau Willie Mbugua-IND
5. Muchugi Isaac Karomo- Federal Party of Kenya (FPK)
6. Munyinyi David Mugo-IND
7. Muthaka Lucy Wanjiru- Party of National Unity (PNU)
8. Ngugi Richard Njoroge- The New Democrats (TND)
Quick facts on the Muguga Ward by-election
There are 18,367 registered voters and 29 polling stations
Candidates
1. Mugo Peter Njoroge- Peoples Party of Kenya (PPK)
2. Mumbi Moses Gichau- Thirdway Alliance Kenya (TAK)
3. Mung’ara Joseph Githinji- Jubilee Party (JP)
4. Thumbi Peter Kamau- United Democratic Alliance (UDA)