Bahati Loses In Mathare After Alleging Rigging Plot
The Najua hitmaker stated on Thursday, August 11 that he was tired of waiting to be announced as the winner of the polls.
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Musician cum politician Kevin Bahati Kioko has lost the Mathare parliamentary race, a day after he expressed concerns regarding the vote tallying process in the constituency.
The contest saw the incumbent Anthony Oluoch of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party secure his seat for another term, with Billian Ojiwa of the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) coming in second. Oluoch won with 28,098 votes while Ojiwa came in second with 16,912 votes.
Bahati, who was contesting under President Uhuru Kenyatta's Jubilee party, finished third with 8,166 votes.
Bahati with his wife, Diana Marua. /FILE
Neither Bahati nor his wife, rapper Diana Marua (Diana B), have issued a statement reacting to the defeat at the time of publishing this story.
The Najua hitmaker stated on Thursday, August 11 that he was tired of waiting to be announced as the winner of the polls. He further claimed that tallying was stopped at St Teresa Primary School, further stoking rumours that the ballot in the constituency was subject to being rigged.
He appealed to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to provide answers regarding the matter.
“Three days since voting happened. 21 ballot boxes tampered with. I have been waiting to be declared the winner and to be handed over the official certificate as the Mathare MP-elect.
"Dear IEBC. We need answers. Everything is at standstill at the St. Teresa's tallying centre and we can sense rigging plans....tell us what's happening,” he stated.
Vote tallying at the constituency was suspended on Wednesday, August 10 after another one of Bahati's opponents, Billian Ojiwa, who is seeking the parliamentary seat on a United Democratic Alliance (UDA) ticket, raised similar allegations.
Ojiwa said he had raised an alarm after his agents suspected that ballot boxes from Hospital Ward, Ngeil Ward and Huruma Ward were tampered with.
"Someone was found trying to open the ballot boxes and we have also noticed that some had foreign ballot papers," he told the Nation.
"The number of ballot papers is not matching what was recorded yesterday. My agents say that they were not shown some of the ballot papers."
Ojiwa's alarm prompted IEBC returning officer Lucy Wangari Munyiri to leave the tallying centre for brief moments before returning with directions that the ballots suspected to have been tampered with be placed aside.
She added that she will hold a meeting with election observers and Ojiwa 's agents to resolve the issue. Vote tallying was reportedly resumed afterwhich.
A photo of ballot boxes at a polling station. /K24 DIGITAL
