Nairobi, Kenya, Nov 24 – Azimio La Umoja One Kenya Coalition leader Raila Odinga is set to kick off public engagement on the planned reforms at the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) beginning Wednesday.
Odinga said Sunday in Kisumu, that they will fiercely oppose the ongoing petition before the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee (JLAC) of the National Assembly on the removal of four dissenting IEBC commissioners.
He added that the President William Ruto administration is keen to kick out Deputy Chairperson Juliana Cherera and commissioners Francis Mathenge, Irene Masit, and Justus Nyang’aya who “stood firm on the platform of the truth.”
“This is not going to be accepted. The people of Kenya will not accept it because it is now known worldwide that these people lost the elections badly and that they stole these elections. We cannot accept that on top of that they will add insult to injury by sending away these commissioners and then imposing on Kenyans a user-friendly Commission to them,” Odinga said.
The opposition chief said that the first public consultation forum will take place in Nairobi’s Kamukunji grounds before proceeding to other areas including Mombasa, Nakuru, Kisumu, and Kakamega.
He pointed out that the main goal of the planned consultation exercise will be to gather the views of Kenyans on whether they support the removal of the “Cherera Four.”
“An Independent electoral commission is the referee. It cannot be appointed by a player. So, we will not allow the Kenya Kwisha (Kwanza) regime to impose the commission on the people of Kenya. That is not acceptable,” Odinga said.
Odinga’s latest comments come three days after he told Journalists in Nairobi that the ongoing probe by JLAC is a revenge mission by the current regime against the four commissioners for expressing reservations over the process that led to the declaration of William Ruto as Kenya’s 5th President.
He claimed that the petition is being steamrolled by the Speakers of the National Assembly and the Senate and President Ruto.
He went on to say that the outcome of the ongoing petition against the dissenting commissioners is already pre-determined and seeks to unlawfully kick them out of the IEBC
“The four Commissioners are supposed to appear before this Committee, be found guilty, and be made to appear before a tribunal to be set up by Ruto that will confirm their guilt. They will then be thrown out of IEBC,” Odinga said on November 24.
He added that the “selective injustice” against the four commissioners takes place despite the existence of other petitions seeking the removal of Wafula Chebukati, Abdi Guliye, and Boya Molu as commissioners of IEBC.
“The criminal Ruto stooges at IEBC are being protected and rewarded while those who fought for integrity of our elections are being punished,” Odinga said.
The Azimio Coalition leader said that since Azimio Coalition accepted the Supreme Court ruling on the presidential election, the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) administration has proceeded on what he described a “path of impunity, witch hunt, and revenge.”
Odinga further claimed that president Ruto’s administration has continued to target institutions and individuals who opposed them during the past campaigns.
“The regime has also targeted those it believes it cannot trust to dance to UDA’s tune in 2027 elections,” he said, singling out the Directorate of Criminal Investigations and former DCI Director George Kinoti among the first victims.
Odinga noted that since the conclusion of the 2022 election cycle, the opposition has done its best to allow President Ruto time and space to heal and reconcile the country, but he has failed.
He went on to say that they have given “so much space” to President Ruto to a point “that a section of Kenyans think we (Opposition) have given up the fight”
“Unfortunately, Ruto too seems to think have surrendered. Instead of healing the land, however, all we see is a leadership that is extremely keen to deepen and widen the bitter, partisan divide that existed during campaigns and even open new wounds,” Odinga said.
Odinga stated that despite the challenges being witnessed in the country, President Ruto’s administration is consumed with what he described exacting revenge and laying the ground for stealing elections in 2027.
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