Independent candidates Ekuru Aukot, Abduba Dida and Joseph Nyagah [PHOTO/standardmedia.co.ke]
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has cleared Third Way Alliance presidential candidate Ekuru Aukotand Abduba Dida to vie for the presidency in the August 8 polls while another hopeful was turned away.
Dr Aukot was the first to be cleared and promised to offer ‘fresh leadership’ to Kenyans, arguing that he will be the camel that ran a marathon and won.
“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.
Alliance for Real Change (ARC) presidential candidate Abduba Dida was also cleared hours after his papers received an obstacle.
His certification was delayed for a moment when IEBC rejected his papers and asked that he fulfills all the requirements.
However, things were not good for independent aspirant Joseph Nyaga after suffered a setback because his papers for nomination were not in order.
He was turned away for presenting a banker’s check worth Sh250,000 instead of the Sh200,000 required.
His running mate Joseph Marango was similarly turned away because he lacked 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 a dejected Nyaga.