Deputy President William Ruto’s challenger for the UDA presidential ticket has been disqualified for not meeting the criteria of a presidential aspirant as set out by the party.
After hours of grilling by UDA’s National Executive Committee (NEC) on Saturday, March 12, the 23-year Tracy Wanjiru failed the eligibility test as she does not have a degree.
Addressing the press after the interviews, UDA Deputy Chair Kipruto Arap Kirwa said that Wanjiru was locked out as she is yet to finish her graduate education.
“Looking at the young lady she is yet to finish school, Tracy did not qualify because she doesn’t have a degree,” Kirwa stated
Tracy Wanjiru, a student at JKUAT University pursuing applied bioengineering, had turned up to present her papers in the hope of elbowing Ruto for the UDA ticket.
Speaking after the vetting exercise, Wanjiru thanked the party for allowing her to go through the entire process.
“As a woman, as a person in the minority group, I thank the leadership of the party for this chance. Although I’ve not completed my education at the university, I’m glad that they allowed me to go through the process,” she said.
Kirwa further revealed that it’s only the DP Ruto who passed the eligibility test against two other contenders.
“We have come to our end of nominations exercise to get UDA presidential candidate, we have only one individual DP William Ruto who the NEC board will present to NDC on Tuesday,” said Kirwa.
William Ruto’s other challenger Orina Jephanei was also disqualified for not meeting the requirements set out by the party.
“Orina will not be able to proceed beyond today because he fails to meet the requirements as he couldn’t raise the required fee of Ksh. 1 million,” Kirwa said.
After passing the vetting process, DP is now expected to be officially endorsed by the party’s National Delegates Convention slated for March 15 at Kasarani Indoors Arena.
