The United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party has written to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) complaining that agents attached to the National Intelligence Service (NIS) have been assigned roles in the August 9 elections.
In the letter dated Thursday, August 4, and made public Friday, UDA alleged that the NIS agents were tasked to cause trouble before and after elections in various regions across the country.
The party also alleged that the Azimio La Umoja coalition was recruiting three people per polling station to bribe voters and disrupt the process on election day using funds from the Office of the President.
Tharaka Nithi Senator Kindiki Kithure (left) with Deputy President William Ruto (right) after attending a conference in 2019
File UDA complained that these are flagrant violations of the Constitution and Azimio was in breach of free, fair and credible elections that cannot be overlooked.
According to the party, President Uhuru Kenyatta is in the know and is misusing public officers to taint the credibility of the August 9 elections.
“The outgoing administration of President Uhuru Kenyatta continues to misuse public officers in the commission of serious election offences contrary to, inter alia, Section 15 of the Election Offences Act of 2016 and Section 16 of the Public Officers Ethics Act of 2003,” the letter read.
According to the UDA party, Chiefs and County Commissioners were coerced to participate in a widespread and systematic voter suppression campaign.
“This voter suppression campaign is not only intended to thwart the will of the people and to deny voters their democratic right but is intended to raise the political temperature in the country and to cause unrest which might then be used to ‘justify’ excessive police force and other draconian measures,” the letter signed by UDA national chief agent, Kithure Kindiki, read.
Kindiki challenged the IEBC to investigate the allegations listed in the letter, adding that Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i and PS Karanja Kibicho threatened chiefs and County Commissioners with the loss of their jobs if they do not comply.
The letter was also copied to all heads of Diplomatic Missions accredited to Kenya, Director of Public Prosecution, Chairperson, Commission on Administrative Justice, Chairperson of Public Service Commission, Chairperson of the National Cohesion and Integration Commission, Heads of Local and International Elections Observer Groups, Accredited to the 2022 Elections and the Prosecutor, the International Criminal Court.
He echoed a similar allegation made by UDA presidential candidate, William Ruto, who claimed that journalists working for Kameme FM and Inooro TV were publicly inciting members of the public even as the country heads to the polls.
DP Ruto also accused the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) boss, George Kinoti, of propagating a narrative that could see the country descend into chaos.
Deputy President William Ruto was fighting back tears during a prayer meeting at his Karen residence on Tuesday, August 2, 2022.
Courtesy fight
