Owner of Demolished Nairobi's Airgate Mall Cleared to Run for Embakasi South Parliamentary Seat

Rameshchandra Gorasia, the owner of demolished Nairobi's Airgate Centre (formerly Taj Mall), has been cleared to run for Embakasi South Parliamentary by-election.

The billionaire will fight for the seat on a Democratic Party (DP) ticket and has been cleared by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).

The business mogul has expressed confidence that residents of Embakasi South will choose him as their next MP.

“I am confident that Embakasi South people will massively vote for me in the April 5th by-election,” he says.

Gorasia will go head to head with Julius Mawathe of Wiper and Irshad Mohamed Sumra of Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) among others.

The seat was declared vacant after the election of Julius Mawathe was nullified by the Supreme Court.

In a petition filed by Sumra, the apex court ruled that the election was not free and fair.

Airgate Mall, whose value was quoted at around Sh2 billion, was demolished in September 2018 for allegedly sitting on a road reserve.