Sakaja win Nairobi gubernatorial race defeating Polycarp Igathe
The outgoing Senator Johnson Sakaja has been declared the winner in the hotly contested Nairobi gubernatorial seat race trouncing corporate executive Polycarp Igathe.
The United Democratic Alliance (UDA) candidate garnered 699,392 votes against Igathe’s 573,518 votes.
“I want to thank God for this day and for this journey I want to thank the people of Nairobi for believing in me and giving me the mandate and this task of serving them as governor of Nairobi,” he said as he received his certificate at Kasarani Tallying Centre.
Igathe conceded defeat in the race for Nairobi Governor.
“I accept the decision of the people of Nairobi and thank all our supporters. The governor of Nairobi is His Excellency Johnson Sakaja. Congratulations! God bless Kenya,” he wrote on Twitter.
Sakaja had previously faced challenges as his academic papers were questioned promoting the investigative agencies probe the validity of his documents.
The Commission for University Education (CUE) had rescinded a letter that annulled Sakaja’s degree claiming he earned it from the Team University in Uganda.
However, the court ruled that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) did not make an error in allowing Sakaja to run for governor race.
The win is no surprise as he has been the most preferred candidate with at least 39 per cent in polls conducted.
Sakaja will now succeed Ann Kananu to become Nairobi’s fourth governor.
