My Family Was Threatened- Juliana Cherera Speaks On Leaving Kenya

Former Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) vice-chairperson, Juliana Cherera has told the National Dialogue Committee (NADCO) that she fled Kenya after the 2022 general elections because of threats to her family.

Cherera, who appeared virtually before NADCO on Thursday, September 28, expressed that she feared for the safety of her young family, including her children, hence her resolve to leave the country.

She added that she was still scared of disclosing some of the intrigues behind the 2022 polls because she was not in a safe position to speak about them.

“I have a young family, my last born is 7 years old. It was bad even in school. Our social life really changed. It was bad for my children and my family.

"There are some of the things we cannot say on camera because it is not a safe space for all of us. We have been threatened just because we spoke what we saw and what we know,” said Cherera.

Irene Masit, another one of the former IEBC commissioners, disclosed that she was the target of a political witchhunt because of betraying President William Ruto, who won the 2022 general elections, despite hailing from the Rift Valley region.

"I am out of the country for security reasons, remember I come from Rift Valley, some said that I betrayed the President on social media. I have never stepped into my home since that time. I have never even gone to Nairobi,” Masit stated, adding that at some point she was forced to leave the country at night.

"The second threat was at night. I took a motorbike to the airport and I was the last one to the manifest. I did not report to the police because I was leaving the country."

However, the former Commissioner was taken to task to explain why she did not report the matter to the police by National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung'wah. 

Cherera further stated that she had requested former IEBC chairperson Wafula Chebukati to stream the tallying of results to members of the public but declined, further maintaining that the results were opaque.

"I asked the chair to refresh the screens so that Kenyans could see how many results were processed That was stopped and it is not something that we agreed upon as the commission," Cherera affirmed.

Masit and Cherera, alongside Francis Wanderi and Justus Nyang'aya, furthermore stated that they were forced to resign from their positions at IEBC after they questioned the process that led to the declaration of presidential results.

"It was the commission to tally and the chair (Chebukati) to declare the results. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to do that," Wanderi told the committee when he appeared physically alongside Nyang'aya.

Wanderi added that all commissioners were required to sign form 34 C, which had a summary of presidential results from all constituencies.

"That form was never availed to us. What we got was a form containing a summary of the results from all counties. It was unfair for us to be forced out. We hope the matter will be looked into," he stated.

Azimio la Umoja leader, Raila Odinga revealed on August 15, 2023, that Cherera and Masit had fled to the United States (US) after the polls before they were fired by President Ruto for almost subverting the will of the people during the 2022 general elections.