Why Ruto Has Not Ordered Probe Into Bomas Chaos Yet

President William Ruto explained on Wednesday, January 4 why he was hesitant to form a Commission of Inquiry into the August presidential election after the events at Bomas of Kenya during the announcement of the results were marred by two major talking points.

On August 15, 2022, chaos rocked the auditorium set up to be the National Tallying Centre which also saw Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chairperson Wafula Chebukati whisked away by security officers after a section of politicians blocked him from declaring the results.

At the same time, four IEBC commissioners; Juliana Cherera (vice-chair), Justus Nyang'aya, Irene Masit and Francis Wanderi set up a parallel press conference at Serena Hotel in Nairobi where they disowned the presidential results.

After he was sworn into office on September 13, 2022, President Ruto promised to form a Commission of Inquiry to investigate what he described as state capture, with a focus on the alleged attempts to overturn the presidential election results. Three months later, that commission is yet to be formed.

Speaking during a joint media interview on Wednesday, January 4 at State House, Nairobi, the Head of State explained that he put the matter aside to focus on other priorities he had promised with his administration, but 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.

“The events of August 15 were horrible because even the military, a sacred institution, was roped into the scheme to sabotage the will of the people of Kenya because of the State capture menace,” said Ruto.

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.

“If Chebukati were to tell you the kind of hell he went through if the day a story of August 15 can be told, you will know why am delaying... now I have to balance between sorting out the economy or do I swing this big thing that will drain our energy...,” said the President.

Even as he kept alive the idea of forming the commission and giving no date on when it would be set up, only saying “he has had to go slow", the Head of State already moved to throw away the bad apples that almost caused a constitutional crisis.

President Ruto began sealing the loopholes in the IEBC by suspending the four commissioners, as well as set up a tribunal meant to investigate them for disowning the results. In response, Cherera, Nyang'aya and Wanderi resigned while Masit opted to face the tribunal led by Justice Aggrey Muchelule head-on.

Citizen TV's expose dubbed The Bomas Rapture gave a blow-by-blow account of events that led to the chaos witnessed on August 15, 2022, in front of a packed auditorium. The events that led to that day were traced way back to before the appointment of the infamous Cherera 4.

National Assembly Deputy Speaker Gladys Shollei narrated how unknown individuals had tried to lure her out of the Bomas of Kenya amphitheatre two days before the August 15 chaos with the objective of arresting her, claiming her vehicle had suspicious materials in connection with the tallying of votes after the elections.