- Among those cleared is UDA candidate and Keroche breweries CEO Tabitha Karanja.
- Karanja turned away after she failed to produce UDA certificate and paid Sh50,000 instead of Sh25,000 clearance fee.
IEBC has cleared 11 contestants for the Nakuru Senate seat, setting the stage for a gruelling campaign to succeed the firebrand Senator Susan Kihika.
Kihika, who has held the seat for one term, is seeking to dethrone incumbent Governor Lee Kinyanjui to become the first woman governor in South Rift.
Thirteen candidates had wanted to run but only 11 were cleared; two failed to meet IEBC requirements.
Those cleared include UDA candidate and Keroche breweries CEO Tabitha Karanja who faced a hurdle on the first day of clearance.
Karanja was turned away by the county returning officer after she failed to produce the UDA certificate and paid Sh50,000 instead of Sh25,000 clearance fee.
She was cleared on Monday after she complied with all the IEBC requirements.
The soft-spoken business mogul said she is ready to represent the people of Nakuru at the national level and make sure Nakuru gets its share of the national cake.
"If the people of Nakuru give me the mandate to represent them in the Senate, I will make sure I hold the governor responsible. The monies allocated to Nakuru must be used prudently to develop the county," Karanja said.
She said value addition will be a top priority as Nakuru is the biggest contributor to GDP in the agricultural sector.
Jubilee Senate candidate Lawrence Karanja urged peace during the campaign period, saying all candidates should respect everyone's democratic right to campaign in all areas.
Nakuru county is a Jubilee zone and he is confident his party will defeat UDA.
Independent candidate and veteran politician Koigi Wamwere is also in the race.
He is a human rights activist, journalist and writer. Koigi became famous for opposing both the Jomo Kenyatta and Daniel Moi regimes. Both put him in detention.
"We are hopeful we will win because we are the most experienced in political battles. We have fought many and it isn't easy to have survived," he said.
"We hope we will conduct good campaigns where people will enjoy the gains that have been made in the fight for democracy," Koigi said.
Also cleared were former Nacada chairman John Mututho, ANC's Mike Weche, independent candidate Thomas Mwangi, Ford Kenya's Daniel Kimani, among others.
(Edited by V. Graham)