Kakamega County Deputy Governor Philip Kutima has quit his bid to succeed his boss Governor Wycliffe Oparanya
Kutima, who has been serving as Governor Oparanya's deputy for two terms, stepped down on Monday to support Lugari MP Ayub Savula's bid for the seat.
Savula expressed his gratitude to Kutima and vowed to continue working with him.
"I'm deeply touched and inspired by the confidence placed in me by the DAP-K fraternity and my worthy competitor DG Kutima, to give me the opportunity to be the party's candidate for the Kakamega County governor's position."
Commenting on the matter, Defence CS Eugene Wamalwa said that the party respects his decision.
"His withdrawal from the race does not mean the end of our good relations between him and the party," he added.
Wamalwa further lauded Savula for becoming the DAP-K governor seat fragbearer and expressed his confidence that he will lead the team in clinching the seat.
The CS further urged Kutima to continue working with the Azimio la Umoja team to make sure that the coalition wins votes in the county.
Savula will vie for the seat against Senator Cleophas Malala of ANC and former Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (Ketraco) CEO Fernadez Barasa of ODM.
Kakamega branch Executive Director Joel Okwak on Monday said that the DAP-K governor nominations were to be held on Wednesday if Savula and Kutima would not have agreed on who to fly the party's ticket.
