Voter claims Buzeki not fit to seek governor seat

Zedekiah Kiprop Bundotich addresses the press in Eldoret

A voter in Uasin Gishu County has filed a petition in court, seeking to stop independent governor candidate Zedekiah Bundotich, alias Buzeki, from running for the seat.

Justus Rotich says Buzeki is ineligible to contest because he scored D grade in Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exam, and cannot qualify for a university degree.

The law requires that a governor aspirant must have a university degree. To qualify for a university degree in Kenya, one must score at least a C+ in KCSE exam and/or its equivalent that would be determined by Kenya National Examinations Council (KNEC).

Through lawyer Amos Magut, Rotich has sued Buzeki, the Commission for University Education (CUE), KNEC and the IEBC.

“I am privy to information that the first respondent scored a mean grade of D plain hence did not qualify to pursue a university degree as per the requirements stated in Section Four and Five of the Universities Act of 2012...,” reads the petition.

Rotich states that he is concerned as a voter in Race Course Ward, Uasin Gishu County, that the IEBC cleared Buzeki to vie for the post, yet he was not qualified.

He says CUE, KNEC and Buzeki’s former party, Jubilee, refused to heed calls that he produces copies of his certificates to a citizen called Boaz Kimeli Bulbul to enable him make an informed decision as a voter.

Bulbul wrote to Buzeki on March 20, asking for copies of all his academic certificates which he had submitted to Jubilee Party for clearance.

Rotich, in the petition filed under a certificate of urgency, wants the IEBC barred from printing Buzeki’s name on ballot papers before the “uncertainties” about his academic papers are cleared.

He says the IEBC recklessly and without regard to the Constitution cleared Buzeki without authenticating his academic certificates, terming the process unfair and arbitrary.

He says the Constitution and statutory provisions will be violated if Buzeki’s name appears on ballot papers for the August 8 elections before the matter is cleared.

Rotich adds that this would be detrimental to voters in the county as it may lead to a by-election if Buzeki wins the poll and it is later discovered that he submitted fake papers.

Meanwhile, the IEBC yesterday fined Buzeki Sh500,000 for using President Uhuru Kenyatta’s portrait on his posters. Peter Chepkonga, an ally of Governor Jackson Mandago, had petitioned the IEBC to punish Buzeki for breaching the electoral code of conduct.

The IEBC Code of Conduct Enforcement Committee also fined Central Imenti MP Gideon Mwiti, who is defending his seat as an independent candidate, Sh250,000 for associating with Jubilee Party and using President Kenyatta’s image on his posters.