Eliud Muthiora Kariara, the sole candidate who showed up for the live running-mates' debate on Monday [PHOTO/the-star.co.ke]
The steering committee for the presidential debate has given a terse statement on the failure by several presidential running mates show up at the first event of the contest.
Jubilee Party's DP William Ruto and Kalonzo Musyoka of NASA both failed to attend the Monday debate held at the Catholic University.
Only Eliud Muthiora Kariara attended.
The committee has said that those who arrived later were denied entry into the debating auditorium for breaking the rules.
The committee revealed how they have been engaging all the candidates, adding that nobody should feign lack of consultation for their failure to show up for the debate.
“The suggestion that the candidates did not know about these debates is therefore at best dishonest. These debates have never been about individual candidates, they have never been about any one or two political parties,” reads the committee's statement.
“The debates are driven by the enduring principle that the media is a watchdog for society and provides a platform for alternative visions to contend," the committee further said.