Waiguru Holds On To Kirinyaga Governor Seat At Ngirici's Expense
She held off a dramatic scare by independent candidate, Purity Ngirici, who was aiming to unseat her on an independent ticket.
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Kirinyaga Governor, Anne Mumbi Waiguru has been re-elected on a United Democratic Alliance (UDA) ticket.
She held off a dramatic scare by independent candidate, Purity Wangui Ngirici, who was aiming to unseat her on an independent ticket as an outgoing Woman Representative.
Waiguru got 113,088 votes against Ngirici's 105,677 votes, a difference of 7,411.
She gave her acceptance speech minutes after the official announcement, thanking God and the people of Kirinyaga for giving her another chance at the top county seat.
A photo collage of Kirinyaga Governor Ann Waiguru and Woman Rep Purity Wangui Ngirici. /FILE
"It is just a miracle that I made it and I want to first start by thanking God because if it was not for his strength, ability, wisdom, favour and grace upon me, I would not have been able to be here.
"I also want to thank the people of Kirinyaga because of the confidence that you have shown in me, let my work speak for me," she said.
She also, in a darling appreciation, thanked her husband and her family for standing by her through thick and thin during the nervous period.
"I want to sincerely thank, from the bottom of my heart, the very best of husbands someone can have, Kamotho Waiganjo. If it was not for him, I wouldn't have made it past these five days,"
The two have been making headlines over their dramatic exchange whereby they accused each other of rigging the polls.
Waiguru claimed that two boxes stuffed with the governor's ballots were hounded into a tallying centre during the vote tallying process.
"Rigging in broad daylight. Two ballot boxes with governors' ballots enter Kianyaga through the back door in broad daylight! They must be removed and counting must stop," Waiguru stated, calling for the process to be stopped.
Ngirici had however dismissed her claims, saying the only known backdoor the incumbent governor claimed was her (Waiguru) tenure at the National Youth Service (NYS).
Waiguru had initially raised issues with the ballot papers after they were taken to Kakamega County instead of Kirinyaga County.
"Since our ballot papers are in Kakamega and we are told there was no exact number per polling station, why didn’t IEBC notice the shortfall? Where are those ballots as we speak? When will they get here?" she posed.
A photo of ballot boxes at a polling station. /K24 DIGITAL
