Wafula Chebukati: We suffered to deliver this election
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission’s (IEBC) chairman Wafula Chebukati has again opened up to the challenges he says he and his team had to go through to deliver the August 9, 2022, polls.
The renowned lawyer made the claims in an address to the media moments after the Supreme Court affirmed President-Elect William Ruto’s win.
He stressed that the electoral body staff endured intimidation, torture, and even death at the hands of state agents he did not name in the line of duty.
He specifically mourned the death of Embakasi East Returning Officer Daniel Musyoka who died a few days after the elections.
“(We suffered) Unwarranted arrest, abduction and physical assault of the staff by people believed to be from security agencies,” said Chebukati.
Chebukati who has been praised by Ruto as a hero, also says offices belonging to senior IEBC staff were broken into by unknown people.
The IEBC staff, Chebukati also claims, faced ethnic profiling and cyberbullying by known people on social media.
“No one has been arrested so far and neither has the civil society talked against the atrocities,” he said.
Chebukati also gave a thumbs up to the Supreme Court verdict delivered by the seven-judge bench led by Chief Justice Martha Koome.
“An election is a process and not an event. We conducted a free, fair and transparent election.”
Four dissenting IEBC commissioners including vice-chairman Julian Cherrera snubbed the press briefing.
Others are Francis Wanderi, Justus Nyang’aya, and Irene Masit.
Also read: How Supreme court Judges faced pressure from the public