IEBC clears four aspirants in Embu governor seat race

At least four Embu county gubernatorial candidates have been cleared by IEBC.

IEBC on Monday morning cleared former Embu County Senator Lenny Kivuti to vie for the governor's seat.

He joins UDA's Cecily Mbarire, Jubilee's Emilio Kathuri, and DP's Njagi Kumantha in the gubernatorial race.

Kivuti was accompanied by his deputy Joseph Nyaga.

The DEP party Chairman now becomes the fourth candidate to be cleared with David Muchangi the only one.

He will be cleared on Tuesday.

While speaking shortly after the clearance, Kivuti said he's determined to develop Embu county to greater heights.

He said that he will unite the people from Embu County to partner with his government on the development agenda.

"We'll build Embu county together. Everyone who will be supporting my development agenda will not be my follower but my development partner. I want to develop Embu county once elected the county governor," said Kivuti.

Kivuti applauded the Embu county residents for their support and said he will raise the county to the top position in the country.

The other who spoke after clearance is Mbarire who said her agenda for the county is thriving the county through inclusivity, Agriculture, raising the health state of the county, and fighting against corruption.

"My most critical department is agriculture because most of our revenue is generated from the sector," said Mbarire.

Mbarire said agriculture will get more allocation to ensure the sector that is dominated by tea, coffee, livestock, and macadamia among others.

While speaking at Embu town shortly after he was cleared on Saturday, Psychiatrist and DP party's Njagi Kumantha said he aims at uniting Embu and Mbeere communities for equal development opportunities.

Kumantha said Embu has wealthy enabling resources and he will work towards regaining the wealth status of the county.

He pointed out that Embu has been scoring the best position among the richest counties in the past but that has changed for the worse in recent years.

"We know that Embu was the richest county due to her ability to shelter most livestock in the 19th century,"said Kumantha.

"In 2010 Embu was named the richest county but since then, things have changed and that's why I want to run for this seat to take Embu to where it belongs." 

Jubilee's Emilio Kathuri said that once elected he will fight against corruption which he believes has left the county departments crumbling.

"I will ensure there's order in the county revenue collection department to block the loopholes that have been wasting county resources," said Kathuri.

Embu County IEBC Returning Officer Agnes Mutisya said the gubernatorial position has attracted interest from five aspirants.

"So far there's no one who has had issues with the process and we have cleared four candidates," said Mutisya.