Presidential aspirant Muthiora Kiriara burns voters' card after IEBC denied him clearance

Muthiora Kiriara, an Independent Presidential aspirant shocked Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) officials at the Bomas of Kenya when he burned his voters' card immediately after being denied clearance to run for President during the August 9 Elections.

Kiriara on Monday, June 6 was the last candidate to appear before the commission but luck was not on his side as IEBC rejected his application, categorically stating the aspirant lacked the necessary documentation required for clearance.

“You submitted signatures from only 20 counties and after analysis only 19 passed the test,” IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati told Kiriara.

According to the electoral commission, presidential aspirants and independent candidates are supposed to collect and present 48,000 signatures, at least 2,000 from a minimum 24 of the 47 counties.

“You also only provided one bundle of copies of IDs against a requirement of 24. The bundle also didn't match with the list of supporters,” continued Chebukati. "For those reasons, we reject your application for nomination as a presidential candidate," he concluded.

Independent presidential aspirant Muthiora Kariara accompanied by his running mate Mirium Mutua present their papers for clearance by the IEBC at Bomas on Monday June 6,2022. Image: WILFRED NYANGARESI/The Star Pulse Live Kenya

After Chebukati's ruling, a visibly disappointed Kiriara picked up the microphone and asked those in attendance whether they had a lighter. Once he got a hold of the item, he proceeded to set his voters card alight to the visible shock of those around.

While addressing journalists after the debacle, Kiriara decried IEBC's decision to reject him. Stating how expensive it is to secure signatures from Kenyans while at the same time revealing that some politicians have the privilege of accessing the documents from Harambee House.

It is worth noting that the Office of the President and the Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government are located at Harambee House in Nairobi.

"I'll tell you this, it costs money for those that were able to get these documents. A minimum of Sh10 for those who were willing to hand out their Identity Cards. We've had people hawking IDs from Harambee House, those that have the monopoly of these documents," said Kiriara.