Eric Latiff, Yvonne Okwara to moderate Raila-Ruto debate

Spice FM and KTN News journalist Eric Latiff to moderate the presidential debate. [Debate Secretariat]

Journalists Eric Latiff of KTN News and Yvonne Okwara of Citizen TV will moderate Tuesday’s Presidential Debate, the Secretariat has announced.

Latiff and Okwara will head the second tier of the debate, for candidates who have polled above five per cent in recent opinion surveys.

NTV’s Smriti Vidyarthi and Ken Mijungu of KTN News will moderate the first tier of the debate, for candidates who have scored below five percent in recent opinion polls.

Joe Ageyo of NTV will lead panel discussions for both debates on Tuesday, July 26.

According to the secretariat, the debate will take place from 5.00 pm to 10.00 pm, in two parts, at the Catholic University for Eastern Africa (CUEA) main campus in Karen, Nairobi.

The first part of the debate will run from 5.30 to 7.00 pm, while the second part will begin at exactly 8.00 pm to 9.30 pm.

“The moderators have been selected based on a rigorous criterion that abides by among other things the principles of impartiality, fairness and objectivity, a strong understanding of the Kenyan political landscape and the major issues of this election,” the presidential debates secretariat head, Clifford Machoka said in a statement.

Yvonne Okwara of Citizen TV. [Debate Secretariat]

As in previous debates, the moderators will select their own questions, and shall not share the same with the presidential candidates. They are also not to meet with any of the candidates or their proxies prior to the debate.

Four of the cleared presidential candidates are expected in Tuesday’s debate among them George Wajackoyah of Roots Party, David Mwaure of Agano, United Democratic Alliance’s William Ruto, and Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya coalition’s Raila Odinga.

The debate will be broadcast and streamed by all media houses in Kenya.

On Tuesday, July 19, Kenyans tuned in to watch the deputy presidential debate pitting Agano’s Ruth Mucheru against Roots Party’s Justina Wamae in the first tier, and UDA’s Rigathi Gachagua against Azimio’s Martha Karua.

In case you missed the deputy presidential and Nairobi governorship debates on July 19 and July 11 respectively, you can watch them here.