NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 16 – Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Chairman Wafula Chebukati has requested President William Ruto to open a public inquiry on the allegations of state inference in last year’s elections.
Chebukati pointed out that the actions by the National Security Advisory Council (NSAC) worked to undermine the independence of the poll agency by pushing for moderation of the results.
“The commission wrote to the President of the Republic of Kenya requesting for a public inquiry in respect of the process leading to the declaration of the final results at the Bomas of Kenya,” he said.
The IEBC Chairman said that the outcome of the inquiry is vital for the strengthening of democracy and protecting the stature of the electoral agency which is mandated to safeguard the will of the people.
“The gravity of these attempts to subvert the will of the people cannot be wished away or swept under the carpet because they might re-emerge in the future,” he said.
“It will be enable a future election environment devoid of manipulation, profiling and harm of commission staff while discharging their duties,” Chebukati added.
In his affidavit filed at the Supreme Court, Chebukati listed Former Head of Public Service Joseph Kinyua among other top government officials who wanted to subvert the will of the people at the Bomas of Kenya during the announcement of the Presidential results.
According to the IEBC chairman, the NSAC members went to see him alongside other commissioners at the national tallying centre, and asked him to ensure a runoff, if he couldn’t declare Raila Odinga the outright winner in the 2022 presidential election.
Kinyua who chaired the powerful National Security Advisory Committee (NSAC) had denied claims by Chebukati that the body made an offer for the moderation of presidential election results to favour Azimio candidate Raila Odinga.
In the affidavit, he also listed Principal Administrative Secretary at the office of the President Kennedy Kihara , Solicitor General Kennedy Ogeto, Inspector General of Police Hillary Mutyambai and LT. General Francis Omondi Ogolla the Vice Chief of Defences as having attended the meeting.
In his replying affidavit, Kinyua had admitted that officials met the electoral body but to only address security concerns raised.
“The Constitution dictates that elections shall be free from violence, intimidation, improper influence or corruption. In this regard, as the body charged with advising on national security, the NSAC had a necessary role in ensuring and promoting security around the election process,” avers Kinyua.
In his narration, Chebukati stated that prior to the arrival of the team, he had received a call from Kinyua informing him that he had sent a team that would like to discuss the “assumption of office”.
