Comedian Is First Official Candidate of Kenya Presidential Election

A former professional comedian named Walter Mong’are Nyambane on Monday became the first official candidate for the upcoming presidential election in Kenya, the country’s Capital FM news website reported.

“Nyambane, a former actor in the once-popular Redykyulass comedy group was the first to get approval to be on the ballot in the August 9 presidential election,” Capital FM revealed on May 30.

“We have looked at all your documents and you have met all the requirements to vie for the presidency,” Wafula Chebukati, the chairman of Kenya’s Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, told Nyambane on May 30.

Wafula spoke during a ceremony in which he presented the former comic with a certificate certifying his presidential candidacy.

Nyambe gained fame within Kenya through a successful career in the comedic arts before venturing into the public sector through various government roles in recent years.

“Nyambane resigned as a Director of Youth Programs in the presidency and Cabinet Affairs Office in February,” according to Captial FM.

“He has previously served as the Communications Director at the Nairobi County Government and the Head of Radio at the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC),” the media outlet recalled.

Thank you God 🙏
Sasa twende kazi! pic.twitter.com/wMZXaBScwP

— Rotarian Walter Mongare Snr (@WALTERMONGARE) May 30, 2022

Nyambane represents Kenya’s Umoja Summit Party. The political party has “pledged to ensure that marginalized persons in the country get a platform to be heard in the nation’s politics and in matters economics [sic],” a reporter for Citizen TV Kenya said during a news broadcast on March 18.

The Umoja Summit Party said at the time it aimed to “bring about progressive development” in Kenya through the “inclusion of the marginalized.” Leaders of the party have said they formed the group “to ensure that youth, women, and people living with disabilities are heard.”

Kenya’s 2022 presidential election is scheduled for August 9. Prior Kenyan national elections have been mired by identity politics, with the upcoming presidential vote appearing to serve as no exception.

“The two leading candidates in Kenya’s presidential election have chosen running mates from the vote-rich Kikuyu ethnic group to bolster their chances of winning August’s much-anticipated poll,” the BBC reported on May 17.

“Deputy President William Ruto has picked businessman Rigathi Gachagua while former Prime Minister Raila Odinga has settled for former Justice Minister Martha Karua,” the British broadcaster observed.

“The two are worlds apart, save for the fact that they come from the Mount Kenya region,” a Nairobi-based political analyst named Javas Bigambo told the BBC.

Kenya’s Mount Kenya region is home to the Kikuyu ethnic group. Members of the tribe are today considered “the economic and political elite of independent Kenya,” according to Encyclopedia Britannica. Candidates for Kenya’s presidency often court political support from the Kikuyu tribe, as it is traditionally considered instrumental in determining the vote’s outcome.