Chebukati Attacks Cherera, Tuju In Public Speech

Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chairperson, Wafula Chebukati, slammed his deputy, Juliana Cherera while giving his remarks during a post-election evaluation meeting they both attended in Mombasa, on Thursday, September 15.

Chebukati made a ruthless evaluation of Cherera and the three commissioners who had opposed him, accusing them of being responsible for the arbitrary arrest of IEBC staff. He also revealed that they lied to members of the public and that they were handed minor roles by the chairman during the electioneering period.

He also blamed them for maligning the Commission, and that the chaos that was caused at Bomas on the day of announcing the presidential results saw him and commissioners Abdi Guliye and Boya Molu, and CEO Marjan Hussein subjected to assault and bodily harm.

"The most unfortunate incident was the false accusation by commissioners and fellow staff - under oath - that exposed innocent hardworking staff to arbitrary arrests and abductions, intimidation and harassment by security agencies and political goons, and other forms of obstructing election officials from conducting their duties.

"These shameless attacks amounting to election offences were perpetrated by, among others, persons regarded as national leaders in full view of the whole nation and the world at large," he stated.

Chebukati noted that after the commissioners; Juliana Cherera, Irene Masit, Francis Wanderi and Justus Nyang'aya, the four who broke away, IEBC had established committees with each commissioner chairing one.

He said that this was for the purposes of enhancing the policy and strategy formulation, and oversight function of the commission.

He noted that IEBC's primary role in the 2022 general elections was to ensure that the poll results were verified, tallied and announced. It, therefore, meant that all the members of the commission had unrestricted access to the floor of the tallying centre to monitor and supervise the election results verification process.

In addition, all staff of the IEBC, including Cherera, were assigned duties to manage critical components of the election including the postponement of the Mombasa and Kakamega gubernatorial races

"It is therefore insincere for any member of the commission and senior staff to allege that they were barred from providing assistance to the election management process. It is even tragic that some members of the commission would petition the Supreme Court of Kenya to nullify results that we collectively worked under difficult circumstances to deliver for the people of Kenya.

"The unfounded allegations that the election results management process was opaque is totally oblivious to the fact that returning officers had to spend a minimum of three days at the national tallying as their return of results were verified in the presence of agents, the media and observers before the announcement," he added.

In the same statement, he also dragged former Jubilee Secretary General, Raphael Tuju, under the bus with regards to the night meeting held at Tuju's home.

"Apart from the foregoing, the Chairman and Commissioners Prof. Abdi Guliye and Boya Molu were subjected to character assassination by Raphael Tuju who falsely tried to infer ill motive to a visit to him by the three of us when he was involved in a road gruesome road accident that nearly claimed his life.

"He attempted to take advantage of a benevolent gesture of visiting him in 2021, on his own invitation, while recuperating from his injuries to achieve the malicious end of maligning our image before the public," he added. 

IEBC chairman, Wafula Chebukati issuing William Ruto his certificate after winning the election. /WILLIAM RUTO