National Assembly Minority Leader Opiyo Wandayi on Thursday, April 13, claimed that Venezuelan hackers were back in the country at the invitation of the government accusing it of planning to tamper with Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) servers.
Wandayi, who doubles up as Ugunja MP, noted that the bipartisan talks that are set to take place between the Kenya Kwanza administration and Azimio La Umoja coalition had started on the wrong footing.
"We are aware that Venezuelans have been around for the past two weeks to try and tamper with the data in the server. We are on their radar.
“Unless that bipartisan process is opened up to include external players including the church, student unions, workers, youth, women and everybody else, they cannot be allowed to proceed. That is going to be the point of departure. That process can only be an extra-parliamentary process,” he stated during an Azimio la Umoja Town Hall meeting at Ufungamano House.
Wandayi also complained about the ruling party had been poaching parliamentarians from the opposition which he claimed saw their members join Kenya Kwanza Coalition.
He argued that Eldas MP Adan Keynan, who was elected on a Jubilee Party ticket but now supports President William Ruto and his administration, was one example.
Jose Gregorio Camargo Castellano, a Venezuelan contractor working with IEBC, became popular during the Supreme Court case in September 2022 after the opposition challenged the legality of William Ruto's presidential victory.
Azimio La Umoja coalition, through their lawyer Julie Soweto, accused Camargo of interfering with IEBC servers to favour Ruto leading to his win.
Wandayi's sentiments came after the Kenya Kwanza Coalition announced its seven-member team on April 11 at State House scheduled to meet with Azimio’s seven-member team. Keynan, although legally a part of the opposition's Jubilee Party, was selected as a member of Kenya Kwanza’s team in the negotiations.
The team, led by Kikuyu MP Kimani Ichung’wah, defended Keynan's selection insisting that the proposed talks would only center on the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) selection panel.
Ichung’wah added that the Kenya Kwanza Parliamentary Group had resolved that the team doesn’t have a key to any server and that Azimio should go to court to seek redress concerning IEBC servers.
The Azimio Coalition appointed Jubilee Party Secretary General Jeremiah Kioni and law Scholar Makau Mutua to serve as assisting counsels to their team during negotiations with Kenya Kwanza. They also included Raila Odinga's lawyer Paul Mwangi as an assisting counsel.
On April 12, Kioni claimed that the government had brought hackers to tamper with IEBC servers before the bipartisan talks began.
"We know they have brought characters from out of the country yet again to try and tamper with the data but we will be able to detect it when we open the server," he stated.
At the time of publishing, he had not provided evidence to back up the claim.
