William Ruto says he will testify on poll rigging claim
Deputy President William Ruto and his wife Rachel with Ambassador Johnnie Carson, a senior adviser at the United States Institute of Peace, at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and Security in Washington DC.
What you need to know:
- DP has asked the IEBC to probe the allegations made by Murang’a Woman Rep Sabina Chege and Dr Oburu Odinga.
- Electoral body promises to investigate the rigging allegations made by the Deputy President during his ongoing US tour.
Deputy President William Ruto yesterday agreed to provide information to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) over rigging claims he made during a tour of the United States, hours after the agency said they would investigate the allegations.
During his ongoing US tour, Dr Ruto said there are plans to compromise Kenya’s democracy in the August 9 General Election. He spoke at the Karson Institute for Race, Peace and Social justice in Loyola University in Maryland.
Speaking in Nakuru yesterday, IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati revealed that the electoral body will investigate the claims, as part of its bid to ensure it delivers free, fair, credible and verifiable results.
“Once we get details, the IEBC will investigate the rigging claims and report back to Kenyans. All presidential aspirants are bound by the code of conduct,” he said.
Mr Chebukati was speaking on the sidelines of an event where media stakeholders signed a Memorandum of Understanding that will ease their work of disseminating relevant and verifiable information before, during and after the polls.
Director of Communication in Dr Ruto’s office, Emmanuel Talam, in an interview with the Nation, said the DP is ready to cooperate with IEBC to ensure the elections are free, fair, credible and verifiable.
“The DP is ready to cooperate with IEBC to ensure the August 9 General Election results are not compromised,” he said.
Presidential race
Through his spokesperson, Dr Ruto also asked the IEBC to probe the allegations made by Murang’a Woman Rep Sabina Chege and Dr Oburu Odinga, who are on record saying the Deep State will make ODM leader Raila Odinga president.
“What do Cotu boss Francis Atwoli and Jubilee vice-chair David Murathe mean every time they tell the country that Uhuru will not hand over power to some people? Aren’t we a democracy where leadership is determined by a vote?” he posed.
Yesterday, Dr Ruto continued his tour in America that was dogged by claims of spreading fake news. Kenyans on Twitter called out Mr Hussein Mohamed, the head of Communications in the William Ruto Presidential Campaign, for spreading false reports claiming the DP had met US officials at White House, the official residence of US president Joe Biden.
A check of the photos posted by Mr Mohamed revealed Dr Ruto met the officials at the Eisenhower building, named after the great Second World War general and former US president Dwight Eisenhower, just west of the White House.
The Kenya Kwanza Alliance and UDA leader will face Mr Odinga, the likely Azimio la Umoja Movement aspirant, and other hopefuls in the presidential race.
During a rally yesterday, Ford Kenya leader Moses Wetang’ula said Kenya Kwanza is demanding that IEBC must deliver a credible election, dismissing claims that the DP had sensed defeat.
“As Kenya Kwanza, we believe in IEBC to conduct a credible, free and fair election and we are confident of clinching victory,” he said.
Sparked political storm
Dr Ruto’s vote-rigging claim has in the past few days sparked a political storm, attracting angry reactions from rivals, including allies of Mr Raila Odinga, who claimed the DP had sensed defeat and was laying the groundwork to reject the results.
Yesterday, the Kenya Editors’ Guild and the Kenya Union of Journalists signed a Memorandum of Understanding ( MoU) with the IEBC, aimed at easing the work of the media in reporting of the polls.
The MoU was signed in the presence of Mr Chebukati, Kenya Editors Guild CEO Rosalia Omungo, IEBC acting CEO Marjan Hussein Marjan and Kenya Union of Journalists Secretary-General Eric Oduor.
“The MoU is meant to ensure there is transparency in results transmission during the August 9 General Election and also to ease reporting of the events leading to the election day,” said Mr Marjan.
Ms Omungo added: “The MoU will allow easy access to data and information required to do all rounded stories about elections.”
Mr Oduor said the pact will facilitate collaboration between the poll agency and the media.
“There is always anxiety when information is not flowing. The MoU will enable the media to collaborate with IEBC and seal all information gaps in the reporting of the August 9 General Election,” he said.
