By Jabali Digital
Gospel singer Reuben Kigame has declared his bid for the presidency, ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The Eldoret based musician made the announcement, during an interview on NTV’s Fixing the Nation program on Monday morning.
“I’m not hoping, I’m planning to be on the ballot in 2027,” he said.
“I’m just getting ready to launch officially in a couple of weeks. It is about two years to the election, so two years is good enough to roll it out,” added Kigame, who has since added the justice advocate to his list of titles.
In 2022, Kigame declared his bid for the presidency only to be locked out by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), after failing to raise the requisite number of signatures from his supporters across the country.
He was among aspirants locked out, with only four; William Ruto, Raila Odinga, George Wajackoyah and David Mwaure being cleared.
Kigame said he is back to finish what he started in 2022, adding that 2027 provides an opportunity for Kenyans to elect character-driven leaders.
“We’ve got to look at the character of the person we elect and it’s not just about the presidency. My instance is we need to have character-driven MCAs, Women Reps, MPs, Governors,” he noted.
The qualifications of a presidential candidate in Kenya are:
Must be a Kenyan citizen by birth
Qualified to stand for election as a member of Parliament
Must not owe allegiance to a foreign state
Must be a registered voter
A holder of a degree from a university recognized in Kenya
Nominated by a Political Party or is an independent candidate;
Must not be a public officer or acting in any State of public office other than President, Deputy President or Member of Parliament
Must meet the moral and ethical requirements under the leadership and integrity Act
Must not hold dual citizenship unless citizenship of the other country has been obtained by operation of law without capacity to opt out
Must not be an undischarged bankrupt
Must not be a person of unsound mind
Must not be subject to a sentence of imprisonment of at least six months from the date of registration of candidates or date of elections. However, this disqualification is applied only if all possibilities of appeal or review have been exhausted.
Must not have been found after due process to have abused or misused state or public office or contravened Chapter Six of the Constitution; and
Must not have been dismissed or removed from public office (including by impeachment) for contravening the provisions of Articles 75, 76, 77 and 78 of the constitution.