Former Citizen TV and NTV Swahili news anchor Salim Swaleh has declared his interest in vying for the Gilgil parliamentary seat in 2027.

🇰🇪 Breaking It Down

Speaking during a burial of one of the Utumishi Girls' fire victims in Gilgil, Swaleh declared that he will vie for the Gilgil constituency parliamentary seat, adding to the number of journalists and media personalities leaving their professions and venturing into politics.

According to Swaleh, his decision stemmed from the pressure from his constituents who had asked him to come and vie for the seat.

"I have the voice of Gilgil people who have told me to come home. I have made friends during my time in the media and in public service and they have asked me to bring them here for developments," Swaleh stated.

📌 What You Need to Know

"For that reason, I will be vying for the Gilgil constituency seat in next year's general elections. But because today is not a day for politics, i will come back later for a forum where we will discuss the kind of Gilgil we want to build together," he added.

The former news anchor, however, did not state plainly the party he would use as a political vehicle or whether he would vie as an independent candidate while making the announcement.

Before announcing interest in elective politics, and after his time on the screen, Swaleh worked as press secretary at the office of the Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for foreign and diaspora affairs, Musalia Mudavadi.

He worked as Mudavadi's press secretary from 2022 until 2024, when he was dismissed after being arrested over graft allegations.

According to a statement released by Mudavadi's office on June 23, 2024, Swaleh, among other officials in the office, was arrested for renting their offices as spaces for unscrupulous businesspeople to conduct illegal dealings, among other charges.

"Those arrested include Salim Swaleh, Director of OPCS Press Service, in whose office the swindlers were found nested with fake door switch-nametags," read the statement in part.

📰 Source: Kenyans.co.ke