Kavindu Muthama Wins Machakos Senate Seat

  • By Irene Mukii on 19 March 2021 - 11:39 am
    An image of Agnes Kavindu Muthama addressing the public at a past event
    An image of Agnes Kavindu Muthama addressing the public at a past event
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  • The Independent Electoral & Boundaries Commission (IEBC) announced Agnes Kavindu Muthama  as the winner of the just concluded Machakos Senate seat in the by-elections held on Thursday, March 18.

    Kavindu garnered 104, 342 votes - far ahead of her closest competitor Urbanus Ngengele who had 19,726 votes. 

    The special poll attracted 11 candidates. Urbanus Ngengele of the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) associated with Deputy President William Ruto and John Mutua Katuku of Maendeleo Chap Chap were among the front-runners.

    Maendeleo Chap Chap Machakos Senatorial by-election candidate John Mutua Katuku
    Maendeleo Chap Chap Machakos Senatorial by-election candidate John Mutua Katuku
    File

    Katuku withdrew from the race on Monday, March 15 in favor of the Wiper candidate.

    Upon Katuku’s withdrawal from the race, the leader of Maendeleo Chap Chap Alfred Mutua said that this move was a decision made in order to block Ruto's UDA from the region. 

    A low voter turnout was registered in all polling stations in Machakos County, with speculations that this was bound to happen since the elections were conducted on a weekday.

    "There are attempts of bribery, but they won’t succeed. Everybody is alert,” Kavindu complained while casting her vote. Ngengele raised similar concerns. 

    The Senate seat fell vacant following the death of Boniface Kabaka in December 2020.

    Machakos county has over 620,000 voters. These are distributed in the 1,335 polling stations in the counties.