It is puzzling how Sports Kenya decided to bar Deputy President William Ruto from using Nyayo Stadium for his final August 6 political rally as details emerged that the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya coalition had booked the same venue for a similar event on the same day.
What could have informed that decision?
Presidential hopeful Reuben Kigame’s bid for the country’s top seat came to a grinding halt, yet again, albeit temporarily, after the appellate court issued a stay order against the High Court’s ruling ordering Mr Kigame’s inclusion on presidential ballot papers.
The Kenya Kwanza presidential candidate, Dr Ruto, confirmed he would attend next Tuesday’s presidential debate, with his running mate, Rigathi Gachagua, saying the DP will beat his archrival, Azimio’s Raila Odinga.
DP Ruto denied access to Nyayo stadium for August 6 rally
A communique seen by the Nation indicates Sports Kenya, which manages most stadiums in Kenya, informed Dr Ruto yesterday evening that the venue is booked for another function on the same day.
The letter was addressed to United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party secretary-general Veronica Maina and copied to Sports Cabinet Secretary Amina Mohamed and Principal Secretary Joe Okudo, among others.
The letter appears to be a response to reports from DP Ruto’s camp to the effect that Mr Odinga’s camp had also booked the venue for a political function on the same day.
A day later, Azimio, through its secretary-general Junet Mohamed, said the coalition had secured the stadium and would hold its major rally on the same day as UDA.
Court pours cold water on Kigame’s presidential bid
The Court of Appeal yesterday suspended the enforcement of a High Court order that directed the electoral commission to clear Reuben Kigame to contest the presidency.
The appellate court said the stay order regarding the judgment rendered by Justice Anthony Mrima would remain in force pending the hearing and determination of an appeal filed by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
Yvonne Okwara, Erick Latiff to moderate Raila-Ruto debate
Yvonne Okwara of Citizen TV and Eric Latiff of KTN News will moderate the presidential debate between DP Ruto and Mr Odinga, the organisers announced.
The debate will take place on Tuesday, July 26, from 5pm at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa in Karen, Nairobi.
Dr Ruto and Mr Odinga will take on each other in the debate for candidates who have polled over five per cent in three recent opinion polls.
Roots Party’s Prof George Wajackoyah and Agano’s David Mwaure Waihiga will debate each other in the first debate.
The debate between Prof Wajackoyah and Mr Mwaure will be moderated by NTV’s Smriti Vidyarthi and Ken Mijungu of KTN News.
“We reiterate that under the Presidential Debates Guidelines, the moderators will select the questions to be asked and shall not share the same with the candidates. They will not meet with any of the campaign teams or the candidates,” the secretariat said in a statement.
The presidential debate will be the culmination of a series of debates that started with one for Nairobi governor candidates last week and another for presidential running mates last Tuesday.
Ruto will beat Raila in the presidential debate - Gachagua
The Kenya Kwanza running mate, Mr Gachagua, yesterday said that Dr Ruto will turn up and face Mr Odinga of Azimio in next Tuesday’s presidential debate and that the DP would beat him.
Addressing UDA candidates at Gathara market in Kinangop constituency, Mr Gachagua said the debate would be a time for reckoning for Mr Odinga.
"DP Ruto is ready for the debate, and he will outsmart him. Wait and see; we are ready," Mr Gachagua said.
Ruto campaign spokesman Hussein Mohammed urged organisers of the debate to allocate equal time to discuss each of the critical issues affecting Kenyans, including housing, healthcare and governance.
Mr Mohammed said: [DP Ruto] is ready for any questions. His attendance, however, is pegged on the condition that the moderators will allocate equal time on the issues affecting Kenyans.”
https://nation.africa/kenya/counties/nyandarua/gachagua-dp-ruto-will-take-down-raila-during-debate-3887394
I will remove presidential immunity, DP Ruto says
To fight corruption, DP Ruto has called for the removal of the presidential immunity clause in the Constitution that protects a sitting Head of State from civil and criminal proceedings.
In an interview with the South Africa Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) yesterday, Dr Ruto said his Kenya Kwanza alliance is focused on building strong institutions to ensure that even those holding high positions in government are charged when they engage in corruption.
“There are countries that take their presidents to court because of corruption and we must take our country to that level,” Dr Ruto added.
He also promised to ensure that everyone implicated in corruption faces criminal proceedings, including those in the Office of the President.
He claimed Mr Odinga’s Azimio coalition has no proper plan to fight corruption. “We cannot go by the plan of our competitors who have a President somewhere directing who is to be jailed, which means the President is above the law, and who is above investigations, which also means they are personalising the fight,” he added.
Jumwa out of the woods as court dismisses petition to bar her from gubernatorial race
The High Court in Mombasa yesterday dismissed petitions seeking to lock Malindi MP Aisha Jumwa from the Kilifi governor’s race in the August 9 polls.
Justice Stephen Githinji struck out two petitions filed against Ms Jumwa, noting that his court had no jurisdiction to deal with the cases.
The judge upheld a preliminary objection raised by the respondents, saying the petitioners should have first approached the IEBC’s Disputes Resolution Committee (DRC) before rushing to the court.
“It is clear that this court is in want of jurisdiction to hear the two petitions. As such, I do find the preliminary objection merited. It is allowed and the petitions are therefore struck out,” said Justice Githinji.
Kilifi residents Karl Katingu, Daniel Chengo, Rajab Menza and Concerned Citizens Kenya had in three separate suits challenged the nomination and gazettement of Ms Jumwa as the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) candidate for the post.
