Ruto Claims Plot To Kidnap and Kill Chebukati

He however hailed the trio for being defiant of the threats and continuing to exercise their mandate, despite the threats targeted by them and their families.

admin admin
Jan 17, 2023 - 13:14 Updated: Jan 17, 2023 - 13:32
0
Ruto Claims Plot To Kidnap and Kill Chebukati
President William Ruto speaking at a meeting with independent commissions and constitutional offices on January 17, 2023. /WILLIAM RUTO

President William Ruto has now exposed an alleged plot to kidnap and assassinate the outgoing chairman of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Wafula Chebukati prior to the August 9, 2022, general elections.

Speaking on Tuesday, January 17 during the meeting with independent commissions and constitutional offices, Ruto recounted how Chebukati and the other two outgoing commissioners, Abdi Guliye and Boya Molu, faced threats in attempts to subvert the will of the people during the elections and the run-up to the announcement of the results on August 15, 2022. 

He however hailed the trio for being defiant of the threats and continuing to exercise their mandate, despite the threats targeted by them and their families.

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

"We know that there was a direct attempt to abduct Wafula Chebukati and murder him so that the commission would be paralysed, or a compliant commissioner takes over and subvert the people’s sovereignty.

"We also know that they were subsequently threatened with dire consequences for them and their families if they did not do the ‘system’s bidding and overturn the choice of Kenyans. Again, we know that they stood strong and firmly said no," he stated.

He also alleged that the trio were bribed to cooperate with the agents of state capture who wanted him to change the outcome of the elections to satisfy their own interests.

"We now know that Chairman Wafula Chebukati, commissioners Abdi Yakub Guliye and Boya Molu as well as the CEO, Hussein Marjan, and their staff, were offered stupendous financial rewards to cooperate with the agents of impunity, but they bravely resisted," Ruto stated.

This comes a day after Chebukati revealed that the IEBC had written to President Ruto to form a Commission of Inquiry into the August presidential election after the chaotic events at Bomas of Kenya during the announcement of the results.

Speaking during the launch of the Post Election Evaluation Report, Chebukati expressed that the attempts by multiple factions to scuttle the presidential elections could not go unpunished as they risked resurfacing in future polls.

"The gravity of these attempts to subvert the will of the people cannot be wished away or swept under the carpet because they might reemerge in the future. For this reason, the commission wrote to the President of the Republic of Kenya requesting for a public inquiry in respect of the process leading to the declaration of the final results at the Bomas of Kenya.

"The outcome of the inquiry, we believe, will bolster the independence of the commission and ensure that it maintains the stature contemplated by the constitution. It will also enable a future election environment devoid of harassment, intimidation, profiling and harm of commission staff while discharging their duties," Chebukati noted.

During a joint media interview on Wednesday, January 4, President Ruto explained why he was hesitant to form the inquiry to investigate what he described as state capture, with a focus on the alleged attempts to overturn the presidential election results, three months since he promised to do so.

Though noting that he put the matter aside to focus on other priorities he had promised with his administration, he did assure that he would revisit the events at Bomas in the future.

“I want to promise you the story of Bomas will be told one day…We will establish a commission one day, if you were to sit where am sitting you will know why I am going slow on certain things to get out of the mess we are in,” said Ruto.

According to him, the elements of state capture were so vested in subverting the will of the people during the elections that their attempts even involved some elements of the country's military in their quest to swing the outcome of the presidency in favour of his opponent and Azimio One Kenya candidate Raila Odinga.

Ruto had told the panel of journalists that there remain untold stories of what happened on August 15 and only Chebukati would be in a position to narrate the vivid picture of what he witnessed that day.

President William Ruto during a joint interview with local media at State House on January 4, 2022. /KBC

Tags: