Kiyiapi names running mate

By Sam Ogina

NAIROBI, KENYA: Restore and Build Kenya (RBK) Presidential candidate James Ole Kiyiapi has named Winnie Kaburu Kinyua from Meru County as his running mate in the March 4 general elections.

Kiyiapi who is a former Education PS made the announcement on Wednesday.

Kinyua is a businesswoman and the former Vice Chair Kenya Private Sector Alliance (Kepsa)

She holds a degree in Political Science from University of Nairobi and a Masters in Gender and Development from the same institution.

Addressing the media on Wednesday, Kiyiapi said Kinyua was selected out of a list of five as per the party’s constitution.

He said he held consultations before naming his running mate adding that he is not affected by ‘big name syndrome’.

Kinyua accepted the nomination saying she was ready to serve.

She said the move by RBK is a clear indication that women in Kenya are ready and can serve in big political positions.

Kiyiapi was endorsed as RBK’s presidential candidate last Friday by 384 party delegates who gathered in Nairobi.

He promised a clean leadership, pledged to unite Kenyans, spur economic growth, and create jobs if elected president.

He also pledged to streamline the health sector, expand education opportunities, and improve infrastructure.

Prof Kiyiapi said it will not be business as usual under his leadership, and proposed policy changes that he said once implemented would change the destiny of the country.

He said the first executive order of his government would be to declare youth unemployment a national disaster and to devise means and ways of absorbing the unemployed.

Part of this, he said, will be to open internships for students, create short-term contracts for the youth, and to expand sports and talent search.