Citizen poaches journalist who asked Chebukati ‘tough’ questions
A journalist who attracted praise for asking his interviewer what was perceived to be tough questions in an interview aired live on TV has landed what is believed to be a lucrative deal on Citizen TV.
Ayub Abdikadir who was attached to K24 at the time of the interview appeared well-researched in an interview against both Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commision (IEBC) chairman Wafula Chebukati and Chief Executive Hussein Marjan.
The journalist sought to ask of the senior IEBC officials had done their due diligence before contracting the service providers who will handle the August 2022 polls.
“Did you know the cybercrime investigation and the coordinating center CICC in the Philippines after the 2016 elections called on its Smartmatic to compromise the elections which led to the election of President Rodrigo Duterte?” he posed.
“Did you know that in Uganda, the biometrics voter kits failed, forcing election officials to revert to the manual voter’s system? Did you know that in Venezuela, in Latin America 2017 Smartmatic on its own acknowledged that the turnout of voter figures was manipulated by at least 1 million voters? Did you establish this before you awarded the contract?” he posed.
Forthrightness, hard-hitting and relentless in seeking answers. A noble profession. #CHEBUKATISPEAKS2022 pic.twitter.com/SesuLR8nol
— Ayub Sh Abdikadir (@AyubAbdikadir) July 15, 2022
Marjan responded: “No because I rely on the evaluation committee after they do their due diligence and they provide me with the report, that is what I rely on and therefore this other news you are providing now are things that I was not even aware about.”
On Monday, Abikadir updated his Twitter bio to confirm he had joined Citizen TV, considered among the best television stations in Kenya, as a political reporter.
His change in work station has seen him receive congratulatory messages from Kenyans on Twitter (KOT).