Senator Mike Sonko has picked Vivo MD Polycarp Igathe his running mate in the race to take over from Governor Evans Kidero.
Sonko, the Jubilee Party nominee, had choices of aspirants including former Starehe MP Margaret Wanjiru, Dennis Waweru, Millicent Omanga, Jimnah Mbaru, John Gakuo, James Kiyapi and Janet Ouko.
Sources told The Star Igathe made the announcement to Vivo Energy staff members after a closed-door meeting with Sonko at about 11am on Tuesday.
"He made it official that he is joining politics," a source said, adding Igathe will be taking a "major pay cut".
Sonko is set to unveil Igathe later on Tuesday at Jubilee Party's headquarters in Pangani, Nairobi.
Sonko defeated former Gatanga MP Peter Kenneth and Wanjiru in the nominations. He got 138,185 votes while Kenneth and Wanjiru got 62,504 and 7,654 respectively.
The former Starehe MP had publicly requested to be Sonko's running mate,
saying she could mobilise many supporters and help fund campaigns.
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Waweru, who is the current Dagoretti South MP, dropped out of the governor race before the nominations and said he would defend his seat. But he lost the primaries to comedian John Kiarie.
Omanga lost the Nairobi woman representative nominations while Ouko unsuccessfully vied for governor in 2013.
Ouko is an educationist,
Mbaru is a businessman and current chairman of Dyer & Blair Investments while Raymond Matiba is the
former chairman Kenya Tourist Board and son of multiparty democracy crusader Kenneth Matiba.
Kiyapi is a former PS and presidential candidate.
Igathe has served as the Kenya Association of Manufacturers chairman, the
Managing and Executive Director of Haco Industries Kenya and the director of Mercantile Insurance Company.
He was Uchumi supermarkets director from May 2015 to March 23, 2016.
Igathe was involved in the confrontation during which Nominated Senator Paul Njoroge shot in the air to stop workers from closing down a Shell petrol station he operated on Nairobi-Nakuru highway.
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