Published on November 2, 2007, 12:00 am
By Ben Agina and Ayub Savula
Mr Raila Odinga (left photo) has sensationally claimed that the State has planted six individuals at the Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK) to doctor voters registers in a bid to rig the elections.
The ODM presidential candidate said he had credible information that the Government has planted agents, whose specific brief at Anniversary Towers was to alter voters registers both electronically and manually.
Raila cut short his campaign tour of Isiolo to “lift the lid” on the alleged conspiracy, in which Kibaki-friendly parties are said to have set up a parallel system within the ECK to plot the rigging ahead of the polls.
With these “revelations”, the Orange party put into a spin the already raging debate of whether or not the December 27 General Election will be free and fair.
Addressing a press conference at the Serena Hotel, Raila said the six agents operated from a “strong room” located on the 13th and 14th floors of the Anniversary Towers, the ECK headquarters a claim the ECK has denied.
Smear campaignThe ODM presidential candidate has now written a formal complaint to the electoral body demanding an explanation.
The letter to the ECK is copied to President Kibaki, ODM-Kenya presidential candidate Mr Kalonzo Musyoka, Kenya Peoples Partys presidential candidate, Pastor Pius Muiru, Attorney-General Mr Amos Wako and all diplomatic missions in Kenya.
Raila claimed that the infiltrators executed their “illegal” activities under the command of one John Chege, who is referred to by colleagues as Ceii.
He said the team, which has access to the “strong room”, received direct instructions from Chege to deregister or double register people who by their names alone are thought to be anti-Kibaki.
“In the last one month, each of these six individuals have registered at least 7,000 new people,” said Raila.
He claimed four of the individuals were from Central Province, while the other two were from Western and Coast Province.
But the ECK last night denied the claims that there were plans by some of its employees to manipulate voters registers.
The commission-secretary, Mr Joseph Tsola, said only two officers at the commission had access to the Confidential Registry, where sensitive files are kept: These are the chief security officer Mr Fred Miendo and Tsola himself.
“I think somebody is out to discredit the integrity of the register at this 11th hour. We cannot accept a smear campaign against the register. It is a source of concern for us,” Tsola, who denied having Mr James Chege on his staff, said.
Apart from privileged employees, Tsola said any other employee at the headquarters could not manipulate the register.
“I do not have a Mr James Chege on my staff and not every employee has access to information on the register,” he said as he conducted The Standard on a tour of the offices.
Tsola said manipulating voters registers at the headquarters would be an exercise in futility because the manipulators would be forced to change data in the black book in all District Election co-ordinating offices.
He added: “The changes are normally effected from the districts, hence imagining that one would successfully alter voters information at the headquarters would be in vain. One cannot exhaust nor corrupt the entire data. It is foolproof.”
Tsola said there was a log for every change and any alteration by an employee was registered for verification by a senior officer.
Raila claimed that each morning, the individuals who work under tight security come with a list of names, voter and ID card numbers.
He said some names of voters from Bungoma, a region perceived to be friendly to the President, were being transferred to Sabatia to ensure his (Railas) running mate, Mr Musalia Mudavadi, was voted out.
Raila noted that these individuals “have thoroughly reworked Sabatia and Langata constituency lists”.
Another team, he said, had gone to the Attorney-Generals Chambers and picked names of dead voters to replace them with those of living ones currently on the voters registers.
“As such, the number of voters may look the same and even the tribal composition may look alright by the names,” he said.
He said a lot of dead people were being included in the voters register in Langata, Sabatia and Mvita.
Further, he said, the teams have been transferring people from regions friendly to Kibaki to areas where he was doing badly.
“The people being transferred have already been told and they know where to report on voting day,” Raila said of the move, which he claimed targeted certain parts of the country with the aim of balkanising them.
“Im demanding that the on-going rigging within the office of the ECK be brought to an immediate stop,” Raila said and demanded a written response for the concerns raised.
So serious was the problem, he said, that the outcry of numerous irregularities was now coming from the ECK itself.
On his part, Kalonzo urged the ECK to stop tampering with voters registers across the country. He warned that the tampering of the registers amounted to “upfront rigging “of the elections.
Kalonzo said cases of voters being transferred to new polling stations were being reported in many parts and this was sending negative signals ahead of the polls.
He urged the ECK to remain independent and ensure the polls were free and fair.
“We will not accept a stolen election, and we appeal to voters to be vigilant,” said Kalonzo.
Raila explained that on Wednesday, it became public knowledge that ECK chairman Mr Samuel Kivuitu had also joined a growing chorus of disenchantment.
The Government, he said, chose international observers from the European Union and the Commonwealth, while excluding others like the Carter Foundation and the African Union.
“The Government has something to hide and there is more than meets the eye,” said Raila.
Raila said the newly appointed commissioners would basically be passengers in the coming electoral process.
“They cannot be privy to what transpired before they were brought in. If a political party challenges the voters register, they will claim they were not part of the registration exercise,” he added.
He said ODM and other parties had fielded presidential candidates and were competing against Kibaki, and it was important to have a level playground during the elections.
Raila claimed Kibaki had panicked over the polls.
He said it was important for the President to have consulted before appointing the new commissioners to office as a matter of democratic principle.
Raila also hit out at Attorney-General Mr Amos Wako, terming him an “embarrassment” to the country.
He said the AG had completely failed to deal with perpetrators of electoral violence.
He said the AG failed to take any action against Cabinet minister Mr Simeon Nyachae, “even after he owned up to organising thuggery”.
“The AG should have packed up and left like yesterday,” said Raila.
Additional reporting Mutinda Mwanzia, Abiya Ochola and Edith FortunateLifted and published by Korir, API/APN africanpress@chello.no source.standard.ke
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<An arrested Pakistani lawyer looks out from a police van in Lahore, Pakistan, on Tuesday.
It was on Monday 4 June this year around 2200 local time when it all started.
I think that we are stronger if we stick together 
