Ruto accuses top State officers of plan to rig polls
Kenya Kwanza Alliance yesterday accused the State of using government officials to rig the Tuesday election, claiming their presidential candidate William Ruto had already secured victory.
During a press conference at his Karen residence, Ruto named individuals he claimed are behind the plot to cause panic in zones perceived as Kenya Kwanza strongholds. He condemned the use of chiefs and their assistants in regions perceived to be his strongholds, saying the administrators were working under duress for being forced to campaign for the Azimio candidate against their wishes.
Ruto took issue with some top State officials whom he said were hatching and implementing evil plans to instigate and create disharmony and violence in the country, prior to and during the election, to subvert the will of the people.
Kenya Kwanza now wants President Uhuru to intervene and order the alleged State officials involved in the scheme to stop. “Their evil plans are a clear manifestation of a losing and panicky side unable to come to terms with next week’s fate.”
NIS operations
Kenya Kwanza, he said, will demand from the National Intelligence Service (NIS) Director General Joseph Kameru to tell the country what is happening on the security front in the run-up to the election.
Ruto who was accompanied by among others, running-mate Rigathi Gachagua, ANC leader Musalia Mudavadi and Maendeleo Chap Chap leader Alfred Mutua among others, claimed that the government has been mobilised to provide material, financial, infrastructural and administrative resources commanded by the National Treasury, Ministry of the Interior, Ministry of Information, Communication and Technology, and the Ministry of Agriculture.
“The Cabinet Secretaries in charge of these ministries are, contrary to all ethical, prudential, statutory and constitutional sanctions, well-known Azimio political activists, campaigners and party leaders of Azimio affiliate entities,” said Ruto.
The government, he said, is using public administration personnel, from the CS Interior to Chiefs, for a widespread and systematic voter suppression campaign. “This voter suppression campaign is not only intended to deny voters their democratic right but also to provoke conflict and therefore justify the use of excessive police force and other draconian measures.”
Manipulated polls
He took issue with the frequent release of opinion polls which he said were “cooked” to manipulate voters but again the scheme had failed. “They have been releasing opinion polls at every turn; they have now done 10 polls in a span of two weeks. They can deceive themselves as much as they want.”
Ruto alleged that in the realisation of their campaign’s dismal prospects, the Azimio leadership has held several gatherings for the purpose of activating an alternative strategy to implement a dirty campaign consisting of disinformation, dark operations and the instigation of targeted chaos.
He accused the same faceless individuals of being behind the circulation of leaflets warning communities to leave certain places.
The Deputy President asked the Independent Boundaries and Electoral Commission (IEBC), Office of the Director of Public Prosecution and other relevant agencies to investigate the said individuals before they implement their plans.
He took issue with Azimio stalwarts Junet Mohamed and Hassan Joho for allegedly doctoring his speech made in Eldoret last week and purported to show that he incited residents of Rift Valley.
“It is unfortunate that the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) and DCI are yet to take any action. We thank Twitter for their prompt response on the issue,” Ruto said.
Physical assault
He said his team had already identified 10 Chiefs and had evidence that they were threatening and physically assaulting residents who were not supporting their project. “We ask the President to stop officials using Chiefs to buy Identity Cards. Interior CS and PS must know there is a shortage of fools. They are not meeting Chiefs to discuss security; they are being asked to sabotage and undermine the election through the cause of conflict and bribery,” said the DP.
He said locking his team from venues in Kakamega, Mombasa and Nairobi was part of the scheme by the State and asked IEBC to act.
He asked Kenya Power Ceo Geoffrey Muli and the Director General of the Communication Authority (CA) Ezra Chiloba not to participate in any sabotage of the election by switching off the power.
“If they do, they’ll bear the consequences individually. We also ask today; why are they planning to cause a power outage, telecommunications and internet disruptions/shutdowns in parts of the country during the election?” asked Ruto.
