Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Chairperson Wafula Chebukati on Friday, August 26, cut a forlorn figure as he cited the frustrations he was subjected to while conducting the 2022 General Election.
While addressing mourners at the burial ceremony of the slain Embakasi East Returning Officer Daniel Musyoka in Machakos County, the seasoned attorney lamented that the tribulations weighed down upon him.
He, however, stated that he was motivated by Musyoka and other IEBC staff who declined to be swayed away by pressure, harassment and arbitrary arrest to defend their oath of office.
Chebukati also heaped praise on the late Musyoka, describing him as an amiable, capable and competent officer who paid the ultimate price for choosing to diligently deliver on his constitutional duty.
“I ask and I wonder, why must an election officer be murdered after every general election? Whose gods do we anger by performing our constitutional duty? Which earthly deities do our good deeds and duties offend?” Chebukati posed in his tribute and further raised doubts about investigations conducted as a follow-up to the heinous crimes.
The IEBC chair referred to former IT manager Chris Msando’s death in 2017 which authorities are yet to issue a conclusive report.
Msando was murdered under mysterious circumstances one week before the August 2017 General Election. Chebukati further questioned the nature of Kenyan politics that drives political figures to the extent of taking away election officials’ lives.
“Their only crime is that they served this nation diligently and honestly from their work stations at the IEBC. Is Kenya’s political rivalry worth the lives of good men like Musyoka and Msando?” he posed a rhetorical question.
"This scorched earth mentality to the electoral process that is perpetrated by leaders does not sit with an aim to sound democratic processes and order. It gravely offends common human decency and undermines our sense of humanity. It is wrong and must stop. Elections should not be a war but democratic processes to choose our leaders.
The chairperson further called for an end to the trend arguing that working for the electoral commission should not be perceived as a death sentence.
In addition, the chair called upon security apparatus to speed up probes into the matters and subsequently unravel the perpetrators. According to him, the criminal agencies have failed to establish the perpetrators despite being in possession of high technological capabilities at their disposal.
“We can not make working for the IEBC a death sentence. Our job is to prepare a register of voters, not a register of our murdered staff. To prepare for polls, not to be prepared to be pallbearers of our murdered staff.”
“For as long as these murders remain unsolved, they will not only create an environment and culture of intimidation but also embolden the impunity of the perpetrators of these heinous acts," he stated.
Further, the IEBC boss decried alleged attacks and intimidation of the IEBC senior commissioners in the events preceding the declaration of the final results in the presidential elections on August 15.
According to Chebukati, no action has been taken yet against the men behind the attacks.
"Prof. Guliye, Moya Bolu, CEO Marjan and I were physically assaulted at the Bomas of Kenya. These shameless attacks were perpetrated by persons regarded as national leaders and no one has been arrested,” lamented Chebukati.
Musyoka who was found dead on August 15 had served in the Commission for a period of ten years in different capacities, with his last duty being the role of a returning officer in Embakasi East.
Chebukati was accompanied to the funeral by commissioners Moya Bolu, Abdi Guliye and Chief Executive Officer Hussein Marjan.
