Aukot, Dida get go-ahead as agency turns Nyaga away

From Left: Ekuru Auko, Abduba Dida and Joe Nyagah

The electoral commission cleared Third Way Alliance presidential candidate Ekuru Aukot to vie for the presidency as another hopeful was turned away.

Dr Aukot, who was the first to be cleared, promised to offer ‘fresh leadership’, saying he would be the camel that ran a marathon and won the race.

“We must remove this thing of two-horse race. Kenya does not need a sprint. It needs a marathon. We are now the camel that will win the marathon,” he said.

Encountered an obstacle

Alliance for Real Change presidential candidate Abduba Dida was cleared hours after his bid had encountered an obstacle.

Independent aspirant Joseph Nyaga suffered a setback because his nomination papers were not in order.

Dida’s certification was delayed  when the electoral agency rejected his papers and asked him to fulfil all the requirements.

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) refused to accept Dida’s nomination papers because he failed to present certified copies of his degree and that of his running mate.

Dida, a former secondary school teacher, had also failed to provide self-declaration forms.

IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati asked Dida to rectify his papers and present them at any time before 4pm Sunday. He did that and was later cleared.

Mr Nyaga, who is running as an independent candidate, was turned away because he presented a banker’s check of Sh250,000 instead of Sh200,000.

Nyaga had arrived at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre with his running mate, hoping to get clearance but was instead given until today to rectify the document.

His running mate, Joseph Marango, was also turned away as he did not have a certificate of good conduct from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations.

“These little mistakes are part of the learning process. I wish I had practised to be a candidate before. I would not have made this mistake. Raila has been there for so long that he knows all the procedures,” said Mr Nyaga, whose candidature was handed a boost last week when three independent candidates withdrew from the race in his favour.

The commission is expected to continue sitting this morning to receive nomination papers from the remaining presidential candidates - President Uhuru Kenyatta, Cyrus Jirongo, and Michael Mwaura.

The commission also requested the candidates to hand over their campaign schedules for harmonisation to avoid cases of two teams clashing.

Other members of the commission are Consolata Maina (vice-chairperson), Margaret Mwachanya, Boya Molu, Paul Kurgat, Roselyne Akombe, and Abdi Guliye