Yvonne Okwara Among Popular List Of Presidential Debate Moderators

Citizen TV news anchor Yvonne Okwara is among the five top journalists selected for the 2022 presidential debate set for Tuesday, July 26, pitting Deputy President William Ruto and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga against each other.

In a statement to newsrooms on Thursday, July 21, Okwara will feature in the second tier, the major tier featuring presidential candidates with a popularity of above 5 per cent in three recent opinion polls alongside Eric Latiff of Spice FM and KTN News.

The first tier, which has candidates with a popularity of below 5 per cent in three recent opinion polls will be moderated by Smriti Vidyarthi of NTV and Ken Mijungu of KTN News.

Eric Latiff of Spice FM. /FILE

Nation Media Group's (NMG) NTV's Editorial Director - Broadcasting, Joe Ageyo, will moderate panel discussions for both debates.

The moderators, the secretariat explained, were selected based on rigorous criteria that, among other things, endear the principles of impartiality, fairness and objectivity, a strong understanding of the Kenyan political landscape and the major issues of the election.

"We reiterate that under the Presidential Debates Guidelines, the moderators will select the questions to be asked and will not share the same with the candidates. They will not meet with any of the campaign teams or the candidates," read the debate secretariat's statement in part.

George Wajackoyah of the Roots party and Agano Party presidential candidate David Mwaure Waihiga fell below the five per cent mark as compared to Raila and Ruto who surpassed it by a huge margin. This, therefore, means that the two will face each other in the first session.

Okwara and Ageyo last featured in the 2017 presidential debate at the Catholic University of East Africa (CUEA), the same venue for the 2022 edition.

At that time, Okwara was a KTN anchor while Ageyo was also at the station but as a Managing Editor.

As for Smriti and Latiff, this will be their first-ever debate on the moderators' panel. 

KTN News's Zubeida Koome and Francis Gachuri of Citizen TV moderated the first session of the deputy presidential debate on Tuesday, July 19 between Agano party's Ruth Mucheru and Roots Party's Justina Wamae.

However, they came in as last-minute changes from Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) political reporter Jacob Kioria and TV47’s Linda Alela, a matter which drew sharp reactions from acting KBC Managing Director Samuel Maina.

Sophia Wanuna of KTN News and James Smart of NTV moderated the second session which was between Azimio la Umoja running mate Martha Karua and Rigathi Gachagua of Kenya Kwanza.

The highly-anticipated debate will feature Ruto, Raila, Wajackoyah and Mwaure between the two sessions. However, Wajackoyah promised that he would not show up for the debate unless he was paired with Raila and Ruto.

"I am not attending the presidential debate unless I am paired with Ruto and Raila. I am more popular in Nairobi than any of these people. I will win this election without debate," he vowed.

Deputy President William Ruto indicated on Monday, July 18 that he was yet to decide whether or not he would attend the debate.