The upcoming August 8, 2017, General Election will in no doubt be a fierce contest – most probably a battle between President Uhuru Kenyatta and his fiercest rival, Opposition leader Raila Odinga.
As the election date draws nearer, the Opposition and the government continue to engage in a raging war characterised by accusations and counter-accusations over claims of election rigging.
On one hand, Raila and his Opposition battalion have been painting a picture of an elaborate plan by the Jubilee administration to rig the upcoming polls at all cost, while on the other President Kenyatta and his team have been trying hard to assure Kenyans that there is no intention at all to rig the elections.
This war of words has intensified especially after the IEBC rolled out the second and last mass voter registration countrywide leaving many Kenyans wondering who is telling the truth and who is not.
Kenyans.co.ke has compiled 11 claims Raila's team has made just within the last two weeks that the voter registration exercise has been ongoing. Most of these concerns, however, have been rubbished by President Kenyatta and his henchmen as mere propaganda by an Opposition that has sensed defeat.
1. IDs being taken to wrong areas
On January 16, just after the IEBC began the registration, Odinga claimed that the National Registration Bureau was favouring President Uhuru Kenyatta by ensuring Identification Cards (IDs) are readily available in the Jubilee strongholds.
He further asserted that in the CORD strongholds, the bureau had frustrated residents given that millions of ID cards are sent to the wrong stations, making it impossible for them to reach the right applicants.
The ODM leader alleged that IDs in the Nyanza strongholds were being sent to the Coast region and vice versa.
2. Police Vehicles
As the IEBC was launching the mass voter registration exercise, incidentally President Kenyatta was unveiling 525 police vehicles, including 25 armoured personnel carriers, at Uhuru Park in Nairobi.
This was criticised by the opposition which claimed the government was planning to cause chaos.
While responding to Uhuru's claims that he was propagating chaos in the country, Odinga dismissed the claims and instead linked the government to the said planning of chaos.
“When we were launching the voter listing campaigns, the President was launching police vehicles,” Odinga stated.
According to the government, however, the launch of the vehicles has nothing to do with the upcoming elections but is part of a police modernisation programme.
3. Double registration
On January 21st, Odinga raised an alarm over double registration after he discovered that another voter had been registered using his National Identity Card number.
This happened in the same week CORD co-principal, Kalonzo Musyoka, also found out he shared his ID card details with another voter who had been registered with similar details.
Odinga claimed that this was a ploy by the Jubilee administration to lock out potential voters.
On this issue, the IEBC admitted there were cases of double registration which it said were purely erroneous and not in any way malicious.
On its part, the national government strongly refuted claims that there was a plan to lock out some Kenyans from voting.
4. National Intelligence Service in Vote Rigging
On Tuesday, January 24 Odinga sensationally claimed that the government was secretly using the National Intelligence Service (NIS) to rig the upcoming elections.
The opposition leader alleged that the spy agency was taking Biometric Voter Registration kits across the Kenyan borders and registering the Ugandans and Ethiopians so that they can take part in the upcoming polls.
In response, the President and various government agencies refuted the claims with the security department asking Odinga to record a police statement on the same matter.
5. KDF involvement
During a rally attended by Odinga, ODM deputy leader and Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho alleged that some Kenya Defence Forces soldiers were working in cahoots with the Jubilee Government to manipulate the upcoming General Election.
Joho claimed that civil servants were also part of the ploy adding that he was ready to mention their names if they do not retract.
"They have turned KDF officers, NIS, police and civil servants into Jubilee campaigners. Let them be warned that we are taking their names and will reveal you. Don’t dare steal votes and if you do, we will deal with you ruthlessly. Things will be bad,” Joho said.
6. Fuel and Travel Allowances
On Saturday, January 28 Raila sent out a statement accusing the government of denying Chiefs in Nyanza, Western, the Coast and other regions perceived to be Opposition-leaning fuel and travel allowances.
According to the Opposition leader, this is a ploy by the Jubilee administration to ensure Identification Cards (IDs) of his supporters are not delivered on time.
7. Huduma Centres
Still on Saturday, the former Prime Minister claimed that registration offices in areas perceived to be his strongholds, including Huduma centres, are permanently lacking the documents they need to facilitate registration persons.
According to Odinga, this is a to ensure he is disadvantaged in the ongoing registration exercise.
8. Interior CS Joseph Nkaissery
Odinga has also accused Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Nkaissery of intimidation and issuing illegal orders to Chiefs in Opposition strongholds not to facilitate registration in perceived Opposition zones.
“This is an attempt at advance rigging of the August polls. We put the minister on notice that we take his threat to the chiefs and its visible consequences and that he must be prepared to bear its consequences in the fullness of time,” Odinga warned.
9. IEBC
The electoral body has also not been left out in the ongoing controversy.
Over the weekend, the former Prime Minister blamed the polls body for what he termed as "complacency and silence on the matters being raised by the Opposition with regard to the voter registration".
"The IEBC is loud in silence over open interference in the voter registration exercise by the Interior Ministry, the campaign of hate and incitement in some vernacular radio stations and the preferential implementation of the order on issuance of identity cards. We remind the IEBC that it has the sole mandate to ensure all Kenyans of voting age are registered to vote," Raila said in a statement.
10. Retired District Commissioners (DCs)
The former Provincial Administration officials have also been dragged into the raging exchange between the government and the opposition.
Over the weekend, the ODM Party claimed that retired District Commissioners are tampering with the voters’ register in Jubilee’s favour.
The party further noted that some 100 former civil servants are based at Nyayo House, the seat of registration of persons, and are under strict instructions to fast-track the issuance of identification documents to Jubilee-leaning regions to increase the figures for the re-election of President Uhuru Kenyatta.
11. Prisoners Involved in Rigging
In the latest claim, the Opposition on Sunday alleged that the Jubilee government is planning to use prisoners to rig the 2017 General Election.
Speaking in Kakamega county, Opposition leaders led by Raila stated that they would not allow the Jubilee team any chance to rig the Presidential election, adding that a new ploy had been hatched involving registration of inmates.
“They have said even prisoners will be registered as voters, but we know that there is their opportunity to steal the election. If someone has been imprisoned for life, whom will they vote for?” ODM Deputy Party Leader Wycliffe Oparanya wondered.
According to the IEBC, however, prisoners have a right to vote in the election.
So who is telling the truth and who is not? Be the Judge.
