A petitioner has written to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) and the anti-graft agency seeking to bar Senator Susan Kihika from vying for the Nakuru governor seat.
In the letter to IEBC chair Wafula Chebukati and copied to EACC, Joseph Kimani Njuguna claimed the Nakuru senator is an American.
He argues that the Senator renounced her Kenyan citizenship in 2003.
“Having lost her Kenya citizenship, Susan Wakarura Kihika was required under Section 10 of the Citizenship and Immigration Act Cap 172 of the laws of Kenya to apply in the prescribed manner in order to regain the citizenship of Kenya,” the letter said.
Kihika has been the County Assembly Speaker of Nakuru between 2013-2017 and the senator of Nakuru since 2017 to date.
“I contend that the said became speaker and senator and is now seeking to be governor of Nakuru in contravention of the Constitution and other statutory provisions of the law,” he said.
He added that Section 25 of the Elections Act states that a person shall be disqualified from being an elected member of the county assembly unless if that person is a Kenyan citizen for at least 10 years before the election and must not hold dual citizenship.
Njuguna further added that Section 8(4)of the Kenya Citizenship and Immigration Act, 2011 provides that: a dual citizen who fails to disclose the dual citizenship in the prescribed manner commits an offence and shall be liable, on conviction, to a fine not exceeding Sh5 million or imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or both.
“I, therefore, request that the said Susan Wakarura Kihika be barred from contesting in the upcoming General Elections of August 2022 in the position of governor Nakuru County,” he said.
He added that among the qualifications required of a governor is eligibility for election as a member of the county assembly.
