26 September 2023

• Bahati has opened up about his ordeal in last year's general election campaigns.

Renowned Kenyan musician Kelvin Kioko aka Bahati has opened up about his ordeal in last year's general election campaign.

Last year, the former singer contested for the Mathare parliamentary seat on the Jubilee ticket, and was recorded crying in public during one emotional press conference.

During the presser, he was seen crying after being asked to withdraw from the race for ODM candidate Antony Olouch.

While talking to comedian Chipukeezy on the Chipukeezy Show, he admitted that he found himself shedding tears in public because he couldn't understand why he had to withdraw after being handed the ticket when he was sure that he would beat his opponents.

“Machozi ilikuwa inatoka juu siamini nishapewa tiketi na naambiwa nistep down na huniambii sababu, sielewi ni kwa nini. Naona kabisa huyu jamaa namshinda, kabisa!” he said.

The 30-year-old singer however admitted that the other times he was seen crying in public in the campaign, he was just faking it.

".. but there was also a time when I was deciding today I would cry. Period," he said.

At the same time, Bahati claimed that despite running for the Jubilee ticket, he was an independent candidate as the Jubilee party led by former president Uhuru Kenyatta never gave him any support.

He revealed that he spent about Ksh 27 million from his own pockets.

"I was only in Jubilee but I was an independent candidate. Because now, even with this Jubilee ticket, I am not supported. I was only sent to the IEBC ticket and given no other option, that would not be returned. The only way was to return it and say I stopped standing," Bahati said.

He added, "But everything was independent. I campaigned with my own money until the end. It is approximately 27 million shillings.”

Bahati admitted that competing for the seat on the Jubilee ticket was one of the biggest mistakes he ever made in his life, saying that if he had contested for the seat on the UDA ticket, he would now be in Parliament.

"If I had that ticket, I would be in parliament. That was one of the biggest mistakes I ever made in my life, running away from UDA at that time," he said.

However, he added, "I don't regret anything. I don't because the key to success is starting when you're not ready."

Bahati ran for the Mathare Parliamentary seat in the August 2022 election and came third behind Anthony Oluoch of ODM and Billian Ojiwa of UDA.