In the 2013 General Election, four Members of Parliament were elected as independent candidates following provisions of the New Constitution which allowed for the same. This means that the MPs were not affiliated to any political party and were free to support any side they wished during House Business.
Long distance runner and former marathon champion Wesley Korir, shocked many when he announced his candidature for Cherangany constituency in Trans Nzoia County, after winning the 2012 Boston Marathon.
The 33-year-old vied as an independent candidate against the then MP Joshua Kutuny, who was seeking re-election under United Republican Party (URP) which was the most popular party in the region.
However, Korir went ahead to beat a politically strong Kutuny, who was later on appointed as one of the advisors to President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Kibwezi West legislator Dr Patrick Musimba out-muscled former political heavyweight Kalembe Ndile, to independently set foot in the National Assembly.
Musimba, an Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development PhD holder, defeated Kalembe who was vying for the seat through his party, TIP, which was enjoying good support in the constituency.
Buuri lawmaker Gatobu Kinoti, defied all odds to clinch the parliamentary seat without a political party, despite coming from a region that was dominated by the Jubilee coalition.
At 29 years, the former non salaried teacher from Meru County is the youngest legislator in the 11th House and was unanimously endorsed by voters from his constituency, regardless of his humble foundation.
Former KANU politician John Serut abandoned the party to successfully contest for Mt. Elgon parliamentary seat as an independent candidate. Serut had previously represented the region from 2002 but lost the seat to Fred Kapondi in the hotly contested 2007 elections.
According to the Constitution, any person is eligible to run as an independent candidate for election, if he or she is not a member of a registered political party and has not been a member for at least three months prior to election date.
