ODM Party leader Raila Odinga at a past function. [Photo/ standardmedia.co.ke]
The Kwale governor race is likely to take a different twist after County Assembly Speaker Sammy Ruwa announced his defection from Raila Odinga’s ODM party.Ruwa said he will contest for the seat as an independent candidate.The speaker said he opted to defect from ODM because the political outfit had ignored the use of the official party register during the nominations and instead used the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) register, leading to shambolic primaries. Ruwa said he does not find it necessary to fight with the party’s leaders when he can contest independently and win the seat come August. He will be seeking to unseat the incumbent, Governor Salim Mvurya, who defected from ODM to President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Jubilee party.“I made the decision that instead of fighting a political party and expecting it to support your election, the best thing would be to engage them and try to iron out the issues but once I realised the party did not share my concerns, I resigned and I have since been cleared to run as an independent candidate,” said Ruwa, as quoted by Citizen Digital. He further said he will not campaign for any presidential aspirant, adding that he will only focus on his gubernatorial bid.“I have not been asked by Uhuru Kenyatta or Raila Odinga to support them or other presidential candidates and, therefore, I will not send myself to campaign for them but only ask for my votes,” he added.