Former Foreign Affairs PS trashes nominations in Laikipia

Former Foreign Affairs Permanent Secretary Thuita Mwangi

Jubilee Party is under pressure to repeat nominations in Laikipia over claims of doctored figures, multiple voting and stuffing of ballot boxes.

Gubernatorial aspirant Thuita Mwangi Friday joined his colleague, Ndiritu Muriithi, in dismissing the Wednesday exercise.

The two were facing off with incumbent Joshua Irungu, who was declared the winner.

Thuita, former Foreign Affairs Permanent Secretary, sensationally claimed the primaries was characterised by outright vote theft, deliberate delays and alleged voter intimidation by county government staff.

“Some 17 polling stations in Laikipia West Constituency did not have ballot papers for governor and was opened after 6pm,” Thuita said.

Further, he said, tallying of governor results from 22 polling stations had not been carried out by the time of announcing results.

Mwangi and Muriithi, who is former President Mwai Kibaki’s nephew, have petition party headquarters to nullify Laikipia North results.

He said none of the contestants had received copies of the official results and believed the nominations were stolen.

“Laikipia West has 108 000 voters compared to 34,000 in Laikipia North. It beats logic that someone who won in both Laikipia East and West did not go on to win the election,” Muriithi stated.

He said there were external forces meddling with the election to please an unnamed individual. “The people of Laikipia are not happy and we will not accept the flawed election.”

But according to Thuita, Opposition supporters were mobilised to infiltrate the exercise.

“As a result of these serious anomalies in the party nominations conducted in the full knowledge and active participation of the Presiding Officers, Chiefs and Security Officers, we cannot accept the outcome,” he declared.