Independent presidential aspirant Reuben Kigame now says he will challenge the results of next week’s presidential election.
Kigame in a media briefing in Eldoret on Friday, August 5, 2022, said the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) failed to conduct a free and fair nomination process for the presidential candidates.
The veteran gospel musician was among over 50 individuals that had expressed interest to vie for the country’s top seat.
However, his nomination papers were rejected by IEBC, in what he says was open discrimination.
“IEBC and its chairman Wafula Chebukati deliberately and successfully ensured Kigame is not on the ballot. Having met all the requirements to run for president, and having fully cooperated with the commission, my signatures from 26 counties were not received,” Kigame told journalists.
He also accused IEBC of harassing independent candidates without the law being applied, while favouring two candidates – Azimio’s Raila Odinga and Deputy President William Ruto of Kenya Kwanza.
For Kigame, the other two candidates were merely meant to sanitize IEBC’s illegality, which he now plans to challenge in court, once the results for the August 9 presidential election are announced.
“The process of an election is just as important as the results of that election,” Kigame said, in reference to a 2017 Supreme Court ruling that nullified President Uhuru Kenyatta’s win.
He hopes the Supreme Court will nullify the presidential election, and order a fresh election, with his name on the ballot.
Kigame’s name on the ballot
But as he seeks to challenge the results in court, Kigame who had already launched his Jenga Mkenya manifesto, in the hope he will be on the ballot, is also asking his supporters to come out in large numbers and participate in the August 9 poll.
However, he wants his supporters to manually add his name on the ballot and vote for him, as a protest against his exclusion.
“When it comes to the presidential vote, take your pen and write Reuben Kigame on the ballot as the fifth option and then tick it proudly. In this way, we will be sending a clear message to IEBC and their sponsors and enemies of the Jenga Mkenya team that we have a right to choose a President that we want,” Kigame said.
