Deputy President William Ruto has picked the former Absa Bank Kenya Limited COO James Njoroge Muchiri to be Johnson Sakaja’s running mate for the Nairobi gubernatorial race in the August general election.

The announcement came shortly after the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) postponed the Thursday deadline for naming running mates to May 16, 2022.

Muchiri was a gubernatorial contestant for Nyandarua County’s UDA ticket but lost to Kiarie Badilisha.

The Nairobi Senator said Muchiri was picked as the best candidate among other individuals, including Paul Kinuthia and Jimnah Mbaru after a rigorous interview process.

He said Muchiri was picked first based on his corporate experience.

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Kenya Kwanza is expected to unveil Muchiri on Tuesday afternoon at Ruto’s Karen office.

According to Sakaja, Muchiri will not be a mere deputy governor only enjoying the perks that come with the position he will also have a docket in the business sector in order to facilitate the bottom-up economic model in Nairobi County.

“Unlike many deputy governors who just sit and have tea and read newspapers, he brings a wealth of experience from the corporate world. He perfectly fits the bill of what we want to do in Nairobi,” Sakaja says.


Sakaja expressed his trust for Muchiri and revealed there is a working relationship between them as they look forward to professionalising the running of Nairobi.

"He is a man I trust and we will be introducing him more to the people of Nairobi. He is willingly coming to serve the people. You know others are being forced to come and serve. We have great rapport and chemistry and we want to professionalise how we run our city. Nairobi residents want services," Sakaja said. 

Muchiri’s nomination for Nairobi's deputy governor’s position comes shortly after the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition unveiled Polycarp Igathe and Philip Kaloki as its team for the Nairobi gubernatorial race on Friday.