Raila Odinga selects seven people to help him choose running mate

Raila Odinga will be seeking the presidency for the fifth time in the August 9 General Election. [File, Standard]

Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya presidential candidate Raila Odinga has formed a seven-member panel to help him choose a running mate ahead of the May 16 deadline.

The Secretary-General of the Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya Party, Junet Mohamed, said the team will interrogate suitable candidates’ integrity and leadership experience before settling on the most qualified person.

The new team is made up of Bishop Peter Njenga, a retired bishop of the Mt Kenya ACK Diocese; former Kisumu Catholic Archbishop Zacchaeus Okoth, Narc-Kenya Party Secretary-General Michael Orwa, former Forestry minister Noah Wekesa, the Council of Imams and Preachers of Kenya (CIPK) Organising Secretary Sheikh Mohamed Khalifa, Kitui Senator Enoch Wambua and former Turkana Water CEC Beatrice Askul Moe.

The Secretary of the panel will be Elizabeth Meo.

The team has until May 10 to submit the name of the most suitable candidate to Raila Odinga, Junet said during a press conference in Nairobi on Wednesday April 27.

“The panel shall reach its decision through consensus and shall elect its chairperson,” he said.

According to the Suna East MP, the panel will be guided by several core principles including fidelity to the Constitution of Kenya with particular emphasis on the qualification for nomination as a deputy president.

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) on April 26 extended the running mates submission deadline from April 28 to May 16.

The names being fronted for the running mate position include Narc-Kenya Party leader Martha Karua, former Gatanga MP Peter Kenneth and Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka.