UDA Writes to NIS Over Azimio Winning Data

Deputy President William Ruto together with his Running mate Rigathi Gachagua being cleared for the August 9 polls by IEBC officials at the Bomas of Kenya on June 4, 2022.
Deputy President William Ruto together with his Running mate Rigathi Gachagua being cleared for the August 9 polls by IEBC officials at the Bomas of Kenya on June 4, 2022.

Deputy President William Ruto's United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party on Tuesday, June 7, wrote to the National Intelligence Service (NIS) raising questions on purportedly leaked data predicting that Azimio candidate Raila Odinga would win the election by 60 per cent of the votes.

Through lawyers Mutuma Gichuru and Advocates, UDA demanded an explanation on whether the report was true as well as an answer on how Interior Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho got access to intelligence data. 

UDA opined that the information should be kept confidential by the agency's Director-General, and should only be used to serve national interests and promote internal security.

Interior PS Karanja Kibicho appearing before the National Assembly Committee on Administration and National Security on March 17, 2022.
Interior PS Karanja Kibicho appearing before the National Assembly Committee on Administration and National Security on March 17, 2022.
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"The utterances are of grave concern to our client considering that the source of such information has been attributed to NIS reports by none other than the Interior PS who sits in the National Security Council. 

"It is the DG’s obligation to ensure that NIS reports underwritten by public funds serve the national interest and promote national security and are therefore kept confidential," the UDA legal demand letter read in part. 

Elias Mutuma, the lawyer acting for UDA on the matter, accused NIS of allowing individuals to use its resources to further the interests of a political party - the Azimio One Kenya coalition party and its candidate.

Mutuma further demanded that the agency give make public measures that it took or would take to address the alleged breach and abuse of its core mandate. He also opined that the individuals behind the data leak undermined the free and fair election. 

"It would be within the mandate of NIS to ensure no actor within the public or private sector leverages its resources to undermine the ongoing pursuit of a free and fair electoral process in August 2022," the lawyer wrote.

He added that his client was willing to escalate the matter with the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) Noordin Haji to investigate and charge those involved in the data violation.

"The complainant further reserves the right to seek the intervention of the DPP to prosecute those responsible for infringing the express provisions of Section 61 (3) of the NIS act," the letter indicated. 

On June 2, Ford Kenya leader Moses Wetangula, challenged Kibicho, to publish the findings of the NIS report stating that Kenyans had the right to know the details of the report since the institution is financed by taxpayers.

'If you have access to national intelligence, that is not your property. National intelligence is paid for by these taxpayers. Any intelligence must be shared will all Kenyans," stated Wetangula.

Interestingly, Ruto had also claimed to have accessed intelligence reports from the NIS, which showed that he had an eight per cent lead over Raila. The UDA lawyer did not reference the remarks by the Deputy President. 

National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula (left) and Principal Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi (centre) converse with President William Ruto (right) at a rally in Wajir County on Thursday, March 31, 2022
National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetangula (left) and Principal Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi (centre) converse with President William Ruto (right) at a rally in Wajir County on Thursday, March 31, 2022
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