Chebukati can’t be trusted with polls, Raila says
Azimio-One Kenya presidential candidate Raila Odinga yesterday launched a fresh round of criticism against polls chief Wafula Chebukati demanding that he steps down from overseeing polls in Kakamega and Mombasa counties on Monday.
Just two days after he filed an election petition against Chebukati and the polls team, Raila claimed that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chairman had committed electoral offences and should not be allowed to oversee the delayed polls.
Speaking in Mombasa while campaigning for the ODM gubernatorial candidate, Raila directed his hard-hitting criticism at Chebukati alleging, without providing evidence, that the IEBC boss had been compromised to declare UDA’s William Ruto as the winner of the presidential election.
Last week, Chebukati presented the nomination certificate and gazetted the Deputy President as the winner of the contest with 7.1 million votes against Raila’s 6.9 million, prompting the Azimio candidate to challenge the declaration at the Supreme Court on Monday.
IEBC documents
In his 72-page petition, Raila claims he was robbed of victory by the electoral agency and has asked the court to declare him duly elected.
He tabled loads of evidentiary materials, which he said will prove his case before the top court.
Yesterday, IEBC deposited with the court the documents that Raila and eight other respondents had asked for as they prepare for the hearing of the petition next week.
The team that delivered the documents declined to comment on the allegations raised in the petition or those that Raila raised in Mombasa yesterday.
However, later in the day IEBC sent out a statement defending Chebukati from Raila’s charge that he should not oversee Monday’s election. The statement said Chebukati would not be directly in charge of the Kakamega and Mombasa governor elections.
“The commission wishes to inform the public that the statements made today by former Prime Minister Raila Odinga with regard to the role of the chairman in the two gubernatorial elections scheduled for Monday 29th August 2022 are misleading.
“Gubernatorial elections are run by gazetted returning officers as provided for by the law. For avoidance of doubt, returning officers for Mombasa and Kakamega counties are Ibrahim Swalhah Yusuf and Joseph Ayatta, respectively,” said the agency in its statement.
Foreign actors
While in Mombasa, Raila had said the IEBC chairman had acted alone on August 15 when he announced Ruto as winner amidst chaos at the Bomas of Kenya national tallying centre in Nairobi.
“He announced the results alone, yet there are seven commissioners,” Raila said and implied impropriety on the part of the polls team boss. But he also said he and his team had prepared evidence that would reveal the truth behind the declaration of Ruto’s victory.
“We had foreigners who came to interfere with our elections,” Raila said. “They came to oversee these schemes but I can tell you everything will come out. We are asking Kenyans to be patient. Our lawyers will reveal what happened.”
He also demanded that the two elections be conducted under the leadership of vice-chairperson Juliana Cherera, who last week disowned the presidential election results alongside three other commissioners.
“Chebukati should disqualify himself,” Raila said.
Giving a hint of what Azimio will be seeking to pursue in the corridors of justice, Raila said the petition will be asking the court to declare him and his running-mate, Martha Karua, as the winners.
“That is the truth. We won, so instead of going back to the polls, we should be announced the winners so we can take oath of office,” Raila said.
Set free
Raila and Karua were in Mombasa to campaign for Abdulswamad Nassir in the delayed governor’s election in the coastal county.
Nassir is facing a stiff challenge from UDA candidate Hassan Omar who is banking on Ruto’s declaration as winner to capture the seat.
IEBC rescheduled the gubernatorial polls in the two counties to Monday due to a mix-up in ballot papers. Six other elections that were delayed will also be conducted on the same day in different parts of the country.
Raila, who was confident that Azimio would win in Mombasa, said once the Supreme Court starts hearing his petition, the truth will finally be exposed and the public “will be set free”.
“As you can see, I have no worries at all because I am more than confident that the truth will be out and justice will be done. What mama Martha and I have witnessed with our eyes is dirty and ugly. Such should never have happened in Kenya,” he said at Wild Waters in Nyali.
Karua expressed hope that the court will give them a well-deserved verdict that will be accepted by all Kenyans.
She was optimistic that the will of Kenyans will be realised by September 5 when the Supreme Court will deliver its verdict regarding their presidential petition.
“We thank God for giving us Baba the 5th, a person who doesn’t tire of fighting for our rights. We will stand with him because our victory is nigh,” she said.
Karua thanked Coast residents for voting for the Azimio coalition candidates in the August 9 polls.
“You gave us 26 MCAs out of 30; we want to thank the Mombasa electorate for that, but we also ask you to elect Nassir because he holds the vision of our coalition,” she said.
