Nairobians have taken to social media to bash Nairobi county gubernatorial aspirant Mike Sonko, for shying away from the Nairobi governor’s debate and rather sending his deputy Polycarp Igathe to represent him.

Igathe was however denied a chance to take the podium on grounds that the debate was only for the aspiring governors not their running mates.

The debate, which was held earlier today at the Crowne plaza hotel, had been organized by the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) in partnership with Kenya Alliance of Residents Association (KARA).

The candidates who showed up, Evans Kidero, Miguna Miguna were put to task on their vision for Nairobi and probed on the details of their manifestos.

Independent candidates Godfrey Wanyoike and Michael Mutinda of the Agano party were also part of the debate while Peter Kenneth also failed to show up.

Below are some of the sentiments shared on social media;

Abdullahi Musa‏:  A simple debate like this one #NairobiDebate2017 Sonko runs away from it can he surely tackle the various problem challenges Nairobi faces

Steve: ‏ Jokers like Sonko couldn’t attend and it was an obvious thing. #Nairobidebate2017

Cavince Odoyo Owidi:‏  As was expected, when the Nairobi gubernatorial debate began Polycarp Igathe stood up represent Sonko. He was told off. #NairobiDebate2017

Kenya West©‏:  Nairobi can’t afford a shadow governor. You either man up and handle things as a man or bundled out