IEBC has issued a statement to address various issues concerning elections. The body which is mandated with overseeing 2022 elections, waited until Kenyans were asleep for it to issue a statement. In the statement, they didn’t mention issued to do with the election materials that were confiscated at the Airport. The statement, which was issued at 1am, assured Kenyans of free, fair and credible elections.
One of the reasons why Chebukati issued the statement when Kenyans were asleep is to avoid being answerable. They were hoping that not many Kenyans would read the statement.
Another reason was to evade serious questions raised by Kenyans who wanted to know why the Venezuelans were carrying the materials casually.
The statement read like a eulogy of a killed rascal, it skirted around all issues.
Despite issuing a statement, Chebukati failed to answer the following questions:
•Why were foreigners (Venezuelans)- not employees of IEBC nor employees of the directly contracted Smartmatic International BV allowed to carry electoral Materials in their private luggage, strategic or non-strategic electoral materials?
• Why did they have to smuggle the material as personal luggage without declaring the consignment to the customs office as per the requirement of customs laws?
• Why were ‘alleged’ contractors/employees of Seemless Limited, a company which got no direct contract with IEBC allowed to deliver electoral materials against conditions set in clause 22.4.4 of the contract signed between IEBC and Smartmatic International BV?
• How and why were the foreigners going to proceed with electoral materials to their booked apartments instead of depositing the materials to IEBC warehouses as it is a set procedure on all electoral materials?
• The role of a private citizen Abdullahi Abdi Mohammed in inviting the Venezuelans.
Why did he upon interrogation deny any knowledge that the Venezuelans he invited were carrying electoral materials?
• Earlier statement by Chebukati claimed that ATPU had arrested IEBC personnel, in a statement titled ” Arbitrary Arrest and Harassment of IEBC technology personnel “
Are the Venezuelans IEBC Staff or why is the contradiction without correction of/ apology on earlier statements?
The most important:
• How many stickers had the IEBC procured? How many are here? How did they arrive here? Were they all smuggled? Were they declared, received and stored at IEBC warehouses?
These pertinent questions were left, ignored, dismissed, and excluded in the 1 am statement just like we ignore and skirt around the profession and the work part on a thief’s Eulogy.
