Deputy President William Ruto has emerged to be the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party presidential flagbearer after he passed the eligibility test against two other contenders following hours of grilling.
DP Ruto alongside two other aspirants, Tracy Wanjiru and Orina Jephanei, were called to appear before the party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) for vetting on Saturday at the Hustlers Plaza in Nairobi.
Addressing the press after the interviews, UDA Deputy Chair Kipruto Arap Kirwa said DP Ruto was the only candidate who met the eligibility criteria and will proceed to the next step at the National Delegates Congress (NDC) set for March 15, 2022.
“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.
He stated that Tracy and Orina did not qualify because they fell short in meeting certain required criteria for the two step process of verification of documents and interviewing.
“Looking at the young lady she is yet to finish school, Tracy did not qualify because she doesn’t have a degree,” he stated.
“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.”
Wanjiru, a 3rd-year JKUAT student, thanked the party for allowing her to be a contestant in the highly-ambitioned position, even as she remained hopeful that she would trounce the DP on idea basis.
“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.
“It’s almost an unspoken fact that the top seat is always reserved but in this party there is an element of democracy and inclusivity that is unprecedented. I believe I’d beat William Ruto idea-wise, but education-wise probably not.”
The NEC, according to Secretary General Veronica Maina, used the criteria of evaluating the candidate’s belief system, their philosophy, their vision and whether they are aligned to the party’s vision as outlined in the manifesto.
DP Ruto will now be expected to be endorsed as the UDA presidential candidate at the NDC on Tuesday.
