Murang’a Gubernatorial aspirant Irungu Kang’ata has been denied clearance by IEBC, after the electoral body established his running mate Dr Winnie Mwangi failed to resign within the legal timelines.

All public servants seeking elective posts are required to resign six months before the general elections, which was set for February 9, 2022. Dr Mwangi however did not resign within the stipulated timelines.

Section 43(5) of the Elections Act provides that “A public officer who intends to contest an election under this Act shall resign from public office at least six months before the date of election”.

Mwangi had been working as a lecturer at the University of Nairobi for over 25 years before she was picked to be Kang’ata’s running mate.

EACC writes to IEBC over kang’ata running mate

The red flag was raised by the Ethics and Anti-corruption Commission (EACC), which wrote a letter to IEBC indicating that Ms Mwangi did not resign on time.

“The commission is verifying whether the aspirant (Winfred Mwangi Njeri) resigned as an employee of University of Nairobi as at February 9th according to Section 43(5) of Elections Act 2011,” EACC told IEBC.

However, Kang’ata read malice into the move, accusing his competitors of conspiring against him in the race to become Murang’a boss. He has asked for more time to prove that Dr Mwangi resigned on time.

“We have evidence that she resigned on time and we will be coming back tomorrow to prove it,” he said.

Dr Mwangi was a senior lecturer in the department of African Clothing and Footwear Research Network.

Kangata, who is seeking to succeed Governor Mwangi wa Iria on a United Democratic Alliance (UDA) ticket, has less than 24 hours to get a replacement for Dr Mwangi or risk being left out of the race.