Two-term embattled Kapseret MP Oscah Sudi is set to defend his seat on a United Democratic Alliance ( UDA ) party in the upcoming August election.
This is after Sudi was cleared by the Independent and Electoral Boundaries Commission to contest for the parliamentary seat Monday.
Sudi did not avail himself at the venue of the ceremony but instead sent his representative who presented to the Returning Officer for Kapseret constituency Mildred Wachie a certificate from EACC and that of code of good conduct from the investigative agency.
Speaking to the media at the venue, the returning officer said they had no option but to give the outgoing lawmaker the go-ahead to vie for the seat now that the academic requirement of a degree had been removed for those running for senators, MP, and below.
She said they went through and verified the MP’s documents and confirmed that they were indeed correct before clearing him to vie for the Kapseret parliament seat in the forthcoming general election.
The returning officer said the MP, through his representative, excused himself from presenting his documents in person on medical grounds as he had traveled out of the country to seek specialized treatment.
Sudi’s clearance comes amid his trial over allegations of forging academic certificates before the Anti-corruption court presided over by Chief Magistrate Felix Kombo.
Sudi is facing trial for allegedly forging academic certificates while seeking clearance from the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission to contest the 2013 election.
Tom Murgor, who is running on an independent ticket was also cleared to vie for the Kapseret MP seat.
However, three others were turned away for failing to meet the threshold of 1000 signatures of their supporters and were given up to Tuesday May 31 to meet the requirement.
Those who were turned away included Job Kipruto, Kipkorir Ousaya, and Pauline Chelimo who are also running for the seat as independent candidates.
At the same time, two-term Uasin Gishu Governor Jackson Mandago was also cleared to run for the senate seat.
Mandago, who is running for the seat on a UDA ticket presented his papers at the IEBC constituency office and were received by the IEBC county coordinator Irene Mutai.
At the same time, incumbent Kesses MP Swarup Ranjan Mishra has also been cleared to vie for the same seat.
Dr. Mishra will be vying for a second term as an independent candidate stating a change of heart, time, priorities, and people’s choice, in reference to the 2017 elections under which he won the MP seat through a Jubilee party ticket.
Dr. Mishra, while addressing his supporters after receiving his certificate, called on the members of the public to maintain peace during this electioneering period.
“We vote wisely, democratically, and without any misunderstanding. We are all brothers, we are all sons of Kesses and Kenya, and so we don’t want to have any problems. We maintain our peace,” he urged.
Speaking to the press, the Returning Officer of Kesses constituency, Matthew Sigei said that Dr. Mishra is the first independent candidate to be cleared. He added that the other two candidates who had presented their documents failed to meet the commission’s requirements.
“He is the first one to be cleared. The other two candidates did not meet the requirements. We thank him for submitting his documents. He came with 8,000 copies of his supporters’ identity cards though only 1,000 IDs were required,” said Sigei.
