Sakaja secures Kenya Kwanza governor ticket as Bishop Wanjiru drops bid

Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja was handed the ticket for governor after Bishop Margaret Wanjiru agreed to drop her bid and instead run for senator.

Nominated Senator Millicent Omanga has gotten the Woman Representative ticket.

Following the decision, Wanjiru said in a statement, "Apart from the grassroot mobilization, I have been campaigning for the position of Nairobi Governor for the last two years. I have put structures in place from the polling stations all the way to the County level..."

"Along the way, when we were building the Hustler Movement, we were joined by our brothers and sisters from FORD Kenya and ANC which became known as the Kenya Kwanza Coalition. This meant that new structures had to be put in place and aspirants from all these parties have had to reconsider their aspirations."

Wanjiru said coalitions come with challenges and aspirants should be willing to give and take.

"I know that this move has broken many hearts but I want to encourage all my supporters to be strong and resilient," she said.

Ruto has been calling for consensus among aspirants in the issuing of tickets to avoid a fallout.

The DP had earlier on Saturday signed a coalition agreement with National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi's Democratic Party, hours to the midnight deadline for parties seeking to be in a coalition to declare so.

During the signing, Ruto hit back at the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) over its list of hate speech words.