August 9

Tuju admits meeting Chebukati, puts IEBC bosses on spot over secret talks

Monday, August 29th, 2022 00:48 | By
Raphael Tuju
Azimio la Umoja - One Kenya coalition party Executive Director Raphael Tuju. PHOTO/Courtesy

Azimio-One Kenya Executive Director Raphael Tuju yesterday admitted that he met with electoral commission boss Wafula Chebukati in his office at Bomas during tallying of the presidential election votes.

In reply to Chebukati’s affidavit, Tuju said he met with Chebukati to discuss reports he had received on swapping of Form 34As.

He, however, said contrary to Chebukati’s affidavit, the meeting took place at 4am and not at 3am as alleged.

“I would like to start by admitting that I was at the Bomas of Kenya several times and the meeting which they say took place at 3am happened at 4am,” he said.

The former Rarieda MP further disclosed that he had another meeting at a secret location and another one at his Karen residence with commissioners Chebukati, Abdi Guliye and Boya Molu.

He said it was Chebukati who initiated the meeting and also proposed that the location remains secret.

Asked to explain what the agenda of the meeting was, Tuju said the commissioners had their “own requests”.

“I want to state today that I met with auctioneers and not IEBC commissioners. They came to auction rather than discuss election matters,” Tuju said without elaborating.

At Bomas, Tuju said he made the request to meet Chebukati but was stopped by his security.

“I had information which came from commissioner Guliye that some Form 34As were being brought down and replaced by other Form 34As,” he said.

He said the official did not know the exact location where the swapping was happening.

He noted that after he got the report, he forwarded it to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, who had its officers to interview the official.

Tuju said the official said he had brought the issue up with IEBC Secretary Marjan Hussein Marjan who brushed him off with a threat.

“This gentleman was so terrified and he actually mentioned the case that he had been threatened by Marjan when he brought it up with him that he should not play with him, he will know who Marjan is,” he said.

In his affidavit in the petition challenging the election of President-Elect William Ruto filed by Azimio candidate Raila Odinga, Chebukati claimed he was informed that Tuju and former Kitui Governor Charity Ngilu  initially sought audience with him on August 13 to allegedly dismiss the verification process.

Chebukati narrates how Tuju and former Busia Senator Amos Wako paid him a visit early morning on the day he was to announce the contested presidential results.

He asserted that they advised Tuju and Ngilu to follow the duly stipulated protocol for raising their grievances, after which the former again allegedly sought a private conversation with him but his efforts bore no fruits.

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