Before the dust settles on John Sakaja’s academic and nationality issues, another UDA senator, Susan Kihika is battling allegations of not being a Kenyan citizen.
Joseph Kimani has written a petition to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission and the Ethic and Anti-Corruption Commission seeking to bar Kihika from vying for Nakuru’s gubernatorial seat on grounds that she is an American.
According to the petitioner, Kihika renounced her Kenyan citizenship in 2003.
“Having lost her Kenya citizenship, Susan Wakarura Kihika was required under Section 10 of the Citizenship and Immigration Act Cap 172 of the laws of Kenya to apply in the prescribed manner in order to regain the citizenship of Kenya,” part of the petition read.
“I contend that the said became speaker and senator and is now seeking to be governor of Nakuru in contravention of the Constitution and other statutory provisions of the law,” the petitioner added.
Responding to the petition on social media, Kihika wondered how she was even elected as a senator if she was not a Kenyan.
“Sooo… As a Senator I was Kenyan but now that I am going for Governorship am NOT a Kenyan is alright… Mungu anawaona,” she tweeted.
Her supporters however blamed Nakuru Governor Lee Kinyanjui of being behind the issue noting he had already faced defeat.
Kihika became senator under a Jubilee ticket in 2017 after serving as the county’s speaker from 2013- 2017.
She got the speaker position after her bid for the Bahati parliamentary seat was unsuccessful.
Kihika came to Kenya from the US where she was practicing law just 6 months to the 2013 elections.
“I had decided to run for a seat in Bahati and Bahati borders Nakuru East. I would go in and talk and tell them what I would do but when I come out of there someone will tell me that was not Bahati, it was Nakuru East because I had been from Kenya for over 20 years,” she previously said.
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