Murang'a Governor Mwangi Wa Iria on Tuesday, May 31, caused a scare at the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) headquarters at Anniversary Towers after being stuck in a lift for more than 30 minutes.
Wa Iria had been accompanied by tens of supporters in a relentless search for IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati.
However, when he boarded a lift to one of the floors hosting Chebukati's office, the elevator malfunctioned - causing a standoff.
Some of the supporters who had accompanied the Usawa Kwa Wote presidential candidate read mischief in the development and even threatened to cause violence at the IEBC offices.
"They have declared war on us and we are going to deal with them," one of the Governor's supporters declared.
A section of the entourage also proceeded to the Central Police station, which is across the road from Anniversary Towers, to report the alleged sabotage of the elevator.
After thirty minutes, a panicky Iria came out of the elevator, sweating profusely and having removed his tie. His security claimed that the guards had switched off the air conditioner where the Governor was stuck.
"My friend! Have you ever been stuck in a lift like that?" He posed the questions to journalists who sought to know how he was feeling.
The presidential aspirant announced that he would be reporting Chebukati as a missing person to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).
"I camped at Bomas until 11 p.m on Sunday, but he managed to duck me. On Monday, May 30, I went back to Bomas and then came back here, but I still have not met him. Where is he?"
"I have been looking for my returning officer and I am now going to file a report with the DCI that he is missing. He only appears in the media at night to mention me then vanishes" the presidential hopeful declared.
Wa Iria claimed that Chebukati had deliberately frustrated his efforts to see him claiming foul play. He accused the IEBC Chair of prematurely disqualifying him while extending mercies to other presidential hopefuls submitting their papers.
"He does not want to meet one of his candidates yet he has met all, is there anything wrong between me and him? He called Kalonzo from London to come and fill the documents, similarly with Wajackoya, yet he has blocked me from meeting him," the two-term governor complained.
The Murang'a county boss poked holes at the process of verification of signatures by IEBC at Bomas of Kenya, stating that the commission had no register to compare the submitted documents to and hence had no right to disqualify any candidates.
Iria sensationally claimed that some of the ID copies and signatures he had submitted had been stolen by rogue IEBC officials and allocated to his competitors who had failed to raise the requisite number of documents.
Bomas of Kenya on Monday, May 23, 2022
