Former Murang’a governor Mwangi wa Iria has announced that he will be on the ballot in 2027.
The former governor has said despite his failed bid in last year’s general elections, he will still vie for the position through his Usawa Kwa Wote party.
Last year, Wa Iria was disqualified from vying for the position by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) after he allegedly failed to garner sufficient signatures.
But the former governor has said that he will start preparing for the bid right now to seal any loopholes that may lock him out of the ballot.
“They claimed that I did not raise 20,000 signatures. In 2027, I will give them 15 million signatures. I will take them there with lorries,” he said during a press briefing in Kabati, Murang’a County.
Wa Iria however reiterated that he has no issues with the Kenya Kwanza government but that he will not sit back while his community is relegated to political oblivion.
He castigated those saying that he was part of the Azimio La Umoja One Kenya Alliance saying that he has all along been in the Usawa party.
After his bid for the presidency failed, Wa Iria who served Murang’a county for two terms threw his support behind the Azimio alliance which lost to the Kenya Kwanza alliance.
Wa Iria also called on political leaders to stop fuelling a spat between the Western and Mt. Kenya region.
He said the disagreement was between Nairobi senator Johnson Sakaja and Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and should not be blown out of proportion.
Last month, the deputy President hit out at Sakaja for ordering long-distance public service vehicles out of the Central Business District saying he was targeting traders from the Mt. Kenya region.
Rigathi’s sentiments have elicited sharp reactions from leaders from the western region who have defended Sakaja while a section of leaders from the Mt. Kenya region has come out to defend Rigathi.
But Wa Iria said the two communities have always been united and that they should not be divided by a tiff between two leaders.
“If anybody from my community has said anything that has irked the western community, on their behalf, I apologize,” he said.
