Former Independent and Electoral Boundaries Commission (IEBC) commissioner Abdi Guliye gave his account of what happened at the Bomas of Kenya following the August 9, 2022, general election.
This was when he appeared before the tribunal probing IEBC commissioner Irene Masit on Monday, January 23.
Prof Guliye told the tribunal that he would rely on the affidavit he had earlier filed at Supreme Court during the presidential petition which had detailed how there was an attempt to force an election run-off.
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“I have also read the affidavit filed by former IEBC Chairman Wafula Chabukati and request to adopt the affidavit,” he requested the tribunal.
The former commissioner revealed that the 6 commissioners and the Chairman were working seamlessly during the tallying process.
“The process was going on well in the tallying center until when we started receiving visitors.
“The first meeting was from senior citizens who made several demands to the commission,” Guliye revealed.
According to Guliye, the commissioners were asked to look at the bigger picture and put the interests of the country first.
“We were told that the Commission does not operate in a vacuum and that we should make decisions in a particular manner,” Guliye explained.
“The visitors also raised an issue with the pace we were conducting the tallying process.
“We were asked to go slow on the process as we had 7 days and hence no need to hurry the process,” Guliye told the tribunal.
Guliye revealed that he disagreed with the visitors while Irene Masit and three other commissioners who resigned supported the visitors.
After the commissioners refused to reach a compromise, a second meeting was convened by the National Security Advisory Council (NSAC).
“We were told by NSAC that if we declare results in favor of Ruto the country will burn.
“We were also threatened that should chaos ensue, the blood of Kenyans would be on our hands,” Guliye explained.
When it was apparent that Ruto was winning, there was a final push to have the results moderated to force a run-off.
“Another visitation by senior citizens was made to ensure that results were moderated to force a run-off.
“Having seen the final results, we were told that the election was too close and we were supposed to force a run-off according to instructions from NSAC delegate,” Guliye told the tribunal.
Former IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati flanked by former commissioners Abdi Guliye and Boya Molu went ahead to announce Ruto as the duly elected president of Kenya.
