Former Trade Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria has called out the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) after a video emerged targeting former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.
Ahead of Gachagua's scheduled visit to Mbeere North, Kuria questioned whether the upcoming by-elections in Mbeere North would be conducted fairly, especially amid suggestions that opposition outfits were unwelcome in the region.
According to Kuria, he had raised the issue of potential hostility towards some factions in Mbeere North, but the commission allegedly turned a blind eye to his concerns.
“Dear IEBC. Is this how 2027 will be? I have raised this with your Electoral Operations Commissioner several times. No action. Elections are a process, not an event. Mbeere North is currently the property of IEBC, not the state. The buck stops with you. Your staple food is public confidence,” Kuria wrote.
Kuria was responding to a viral video where a group of four individuals were openly making threats towards Gachagua, whose visit to Mbeere North is slated for November 16 to campaign for the Democratic Party (DP) candidate.
Concerningly, one man in the video could be heard suggesting Gachagua would be subjected to hostility when he visits Mbeere North.
“We don't have any other work from today until the day Rigathi Gachagua said he is coming to Mbeere North. You'll know here in Mbeere North we are men; prove you are a man...," a voice in the video said.
Another voice warned Gachagua against stringing along his wife, Pastor Dorcas Rigathi, for his political engagements in the constituency.
“Come on that 16th if you are a man, but leave Pastor Dorcas behind; don't bring her everywhere you go. We respect women, so come alone and we can deal with each other as men," another character in the video said.
President William Ruto rendered the Mbeere North seat vacant after appointing the area's former Member of Parliament, Geoffrey Ruku, as Cabinet Secretary for Public Service.
In September, Gachagua's party, the Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP), sought to strengthen opposition unity by revealing it would not field a candidate, instead backing the Democratic Party, which is associated with former Public Service CS Justin Muturi.
Weeks before the contest, Muturi and other competitors accused the ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA) of planning to rig the polls - allegations that were dismissed by CS Ruku.
