State House Chief of Staff Nzioka Waita resigns, to vie for Machakos gubernatorial seat

In a statement, Waita said that he had already tendered his resignation as the Chief of Staff in President Uhuru Kenyatta’s government as he eyes the Machakos governor seat.

“I wish to announce that I have tendered my resignation as Chief of Staff of H.E Uhuru Kenyatta, President of the Republic of Kenya and Commander In Chief of the Defence forces.

"As I bid farewell to the House on the Hill, I wish to thank H.E the President for the honour of appointing me to be a member of his administration and allowing me the humbling privilege to serve the people of Kenya in various different capacities over the seven years,” reads part of the statement.

Nzioka Waita billboard in Machakos Pulse Live Kenya

Waita pointed out he is proud of all the contributions he has made in President Kenyatta’s government for the past 7 years.

“My tour of duty in the Public Service has been a challenging but deeply meaningful assignment and I am proud of the small contribution that I have been able to make towards advancing the wellbeing of our great Nation. It is my hope that many young Kenyans who may be keen on playing their part in nation building will be inspired by my journey and will endeavor to pursue careers in the public service,” Nzioka Waita noted.

Several government officials ranging from CSs, CASs and PSs have resigned from Uhuru’s government. Among them Charles Keter (CS Devolution), John Munyes (CS Petroleum and Mining), Adan Mohamed (CS EAC), Joseph Irungu (Water PS), Joseph Boinnet (CAS Tourism) among others.

Last weekend, Waita made it clear that he will not stepped down in favour of any of his competitors eyeing the Machakos seat.

“I have been under pressure from Senior politicians in Ukambani region who want me to back out of the race and give way for my competitors to battle it out. I want to state categorically that I’ll not drop out of the race,” Nzioka Waita said.

He also promised to rally his support behind Azimio la Umoja presidential candidate Raila Odinga.

“I will say it out rightly, that when I embark on campaigns to sell my manifesto to the people of Machakos through the party I will be vying with, we will be in support of Hon. Raila Odinga. We will support him until gets to State house. Azimio la Umoja is the right vehicle for this country tight now and its good my people in Ukambani join me on this journey and unite with other Kenyans in protecting our country,” said Nzioka Waita.

Waita joined the Machakos gubernatorial race on January 4th, 2021. He rolled out his campaign through ads on many billboards across Machakos with the message “Masaku Mbee 2022”.

He promised to deliver on health, water, education, markets, an enabling environment for job creation and investment attraction, and ward level development.

If he succeeds, Machakos will have it's second former State House operative at the helm. Incumbent Governor Alfred Mutua resigned as Government Spokesman to join politics in 2013.