Roots Party Presidential Candidate, Professor George Wajackoyah, has been challenged by Peter Gichira over what he alleged that Wajackoyah holds dual citizenship.
Gichira has accused Prof. Wjackoyah of holding British citizenship as well as Kenyans’.
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| Roots Party Presidential Candidate Prof. George Wajackoyah to prove the allegation of holding dual citizenship. Image:[Courtesy] |
The former presidential candidate Peter Gichira has written to the British High Commission seeking clarification on Wajackoyah’s citizenship in the UK.
Gichira’s letter to British High Commission is seeking authenticity regarding the announcement that Wajackoya previously attempted to run for a parliamentary seat in Manchester, Britain where he lived as a refugee.
Following the British constitution requirement for one to be eligible to vie as an MP, a person must be at least 18 years old and a citizen of the United Kingdom, a Commonwealth country, or Ireland.
On the other hand, for one to run for the presidency in Kenya, IEBC says one must firstly be a Kenyan citizen by birth who does not owe allegiance to a foreign state.
Through their website, IEBC noted that a presidential candidate must not hold dual citizenship unless citizenship of the other country has been obtained by operation of law without the capacity to opt-out.
However, it should be noted that Kenya is a member of The British Commonwealth.
Gichira, through his lawyers, wants to actualize whether Prof. Wajackoyah was a British citizen or he denounced in order to be eligible to vie for Kenya’s top seat.
“We write on behalf of our client to get clear clarification on whether the above-named candidate is a British Citizen, and if so, has he renounced such citizenship rights?” read the letter.
He added that Article 78 (1) of Citizenship and Leadership convenes that a State Officer or a member of the defense forces should not hold dual citizenship.
He further quoted the Article stipulating that the aforementioned clauses do not apply to any person who has been made a citizen of another country by operation of that country’s law without the ability to opt out.
“Your urgent and considerate assistance shall be highly appreciated noting the strict timelines with which the upcoming elections are to be held and the ballot papers ought to be printed in advance,” added Mr. Gichira.
