Chebukati family tells of guns, intimidation and day 40 clerics camped at his home in 2022
The family of former IEBC chairman, Wafula Chebukati, narrated how he escaped several assassination attempts at the Bomas of Kenya.
What you need to know:
- Chebukati’s widow said the family suffered intimidation and threats during the delayed announcement of the 2022 presidential election results.
- The assassination attempts were echoed by her daughter, Rachel Chebukati, who said her father revealed to her that his life was in danger.
The family of former IEBC chairman, the late Wafula Chebukati, narrated how he escaped several assassination attempts at the Bomas of Kenya and how they suffered ridicule on social media after his death.
The late Chebukati’s widow, Mary Chebukati, revealed that her husband told her his life was in danger during the unfolding events at the Bomas of Kenya during the hotly contested 2022 presidential election results.
“He told me he saw someone point a gun at him when fracas erupted at Bomas, which terrified him a lot,” Mrs Chebukati said on Saturday as she eulogised her husband.
Mourners and distinguished guests during the burial ceremony of former IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati in Sapata village, Kiminini, Trans Nzoia County on March 8, 2025.
Mrs Chebukati said that due to insecurity fears in the family, Archbishop Jackson Ole Sapit mobilized more than 40 religious leaders who camped at their home to pray for him before he went to announce the presidential election results.
“There was a lot of fear and anxiety among family members when I could not reach him on the phone as the fracas escalated at Bomas. I was concerned for his security, and it was the most trying moment for the family,” she said.
Mrs Chebukati said she finally managed to reach Bishop David Oginde, the former Christ is The Answer Ministries (CITAM) and currently chairman of the Ethics and anti-Corruption Commission, who assured her of Mr Chebukati’s safety.
She added that the family suffered intimidation and threats during the delayed announcement of the 2022 contested presidential election results.
“Some people were making calls accusing my husband of plans to alter the election results and warned that it could be very dangerous for us as a family,” she added.
She said Chebukati was a victim of election rigging when he contested the Saboti parliamentary seat in 2007 on an ODM ticket.
Family members, relatives and a section of Trans Nzoia leaders receive the body of the late former IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati at Kitale Airstrip in Trans Nzoia on March 6, 2025.
“My husband was dissatisfied with the election results, which we believed were rigged, and we had plans to file a petition, but it was disrupted by chaos after the disputed 2007 elections won by the late President Mwai Kibaki. We had placed everything in order, including Form 16A, which was to serve as evidence in the petition. However, our home was attacked, the documents were stolen, and we could not proceed with the petition,” she said.
The assassination attempts against Chebukati were echoed by her daughter, Rachel Chebukati, who said her father revealed to her that his life was in danger.
“My dad told me he had an intelligence report that someone was after his life, and he was very disturbed. That was the first time I saw my father shed tears,” Rachel aid as she eulogised her dad as a caring and loving father.
She narrated how her father returned home injured after declaring President William Ruto the winner of the 2022 general elections and the country’s fifth president.
“After Bomas, my father came back home bleeding from his leg, but he was not aware of what had happened to him,” said Chebukati’s daughter.
Mrs Chebukati took the opportunity to fault Kenyans on social media who had attacked the family, forcing them to cut off a lot of their social life and friends.
“They killed him so many times on social media, and that has not been fair to us. Now that he has rested, I hope they are going to give us a break and share the great tributes that have been said today during his send-off,” she added.
“If there is anybody who still wants to talk about him, let them talk about the beautiful tributes about Chebukati that have been said today on this podium,” she noted.
National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula narrated how Mr Chebukati disclosed to him that he had forgiven his tormentors and those who attacked him at the Bomas of Kenya.
“The late Chebukati declined my request to have him launch formal complaints about his attackers, who were well known, and to have legal action instituted against them. Indeed, this was a man of his own principles,” said Mr Wetang’ula.
Other leaders who attended the burial at the late Chebukati’s Saboti home in Kiminini, Trans Nzoia County, eulogised him as a democrat who steered the electoral body with great integrity.
bbii@ke.nationmedia.com; ejaolah@gmail.com