Ballot boxes during the IEBC National Election Conference at Kenyatta International Conference Centre (KICC) . July 12th, 2022[Elvis Ogina, Standard]
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) through its lawyer George Murugu has said that it ‘hurriedly’ announced the Presidential results following concerns over the safety of its staff.
He said that the commission made the decision not to announce the remaining 27 constituencies despite being tallied and verified.
He said the results were ready for an announcement by Professor Abdi Guliye but due to the looming threat, they chose to announce the presidential results alone.
Murugu added that the constant harassment that the commission’s staff had faced which included arrest and intimidation is what led to the decision.
“He [Chebukati] made considerations concerning the security of his staff who are that particular point in time were suffering arrest, abductions and injuries to officials including commissioners,” he said.
Murugu is representing the commission's chairperson Wafula Chebukati in the petition said that the results.
As to why IEBC rushed to announce the results yet they had one more day, he said that the mandate to tally and verify the results by the commission had been carried out and given the security concerns and that they had announced to Kenyans that the presidential results would be released on that day.
Responding to a question posed by Justice Njoki Ndung’u on the meaning of the term commission, Murugu said that it depends on the context in which it is used.
He said that some of the roles of the commissioners are oversight, strategy and policy and that the role of the secretariat is to deal with administrative issues of day-to-day operations of IEBC and execution of policies.
He defended Chebukati, saying that he was not an all-powerful figure and that if he was to be incapacitated and not in a position to announce the presidential results, the commission is involved in the whole process of verification of results which means he has no role to act outside his mandate.
He said that the four commissioners who said that they could not take ownership of the presidential results and that they had been given other roles, were the same ones who were announcing some of the results from different constituencies. By Fred Kagonye , The Standard
IEBC Chairperson Wafula Chebukati at the National Tallying Centre in Bomas of Kenya on Friday, August 12, 2022. KENYANS.CO.KE
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has agreed to open all the servers as directed by the Supreme Court.
In a statement on Wednesday, August 31, 2022, the IEBC confirmed that it will give access to the parties contesting the outcome of the August 9, Presidential poll.
"Following the Supreme Court order, IEBC has granted access to the parties to access the servers and the scrutiny exercise is ongoing," read a statement from the Commission.
A display of the Supreme court session as hearing of petition continues on August 31, 2022 JUDICIARY
Earlier Senior Counsel, James Orengo, accused the commission of denying Azimio La Umoja agents access to the IEBC backend.
Orengo told the SCOK justices that the officials at the IEBC headquarters at the Anniversary Towers declined them entry on grounds that they needed authorisation, despite the Supreme Court issuing express orders a day before.
"My lady Chief Justice and members of the court, we are also having difficulties with the orders relating to the inspection of the servers.
In response to Orengo, Justice Isaac Lenaola stated that the exercise was ongoing by the time the apex court took a lunch break and also promised to follow up on the matter.
"We are following up on the question but as far as we know, the exercise is continuing and should there be an issue later in the day or tomorrow morning, we shall receive a report.
"By the time we got out of here, the exercise had commenced and there was an agreement on how to access the servers that were given and the issue of cloning is being addressed. Let's leave it for now. We are aware of that," Justice Lenaola assured Orengo.
IEBC on Tuesday, August 30, directed the commission to give the applicants supervised access to any servers at the National Tallying Centre for storing and transmitting voting information which is forensically imaged to capture a copy of Form 34C which is the total votes cast.
The commission was also ordered to furnish the applicants with copies of its password policy, password matrix, owners of system administration passwords, system users and levels of access, and workflow chats for identification, tallying, transmission, and posting of portals and any API’s that had been integrated and the list of human interface and controls for such intervention.
IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati addressing the press at the Bomas of Kenya on Monday, August 8, 2022. KENYANS.CO.KE
Ballots from 15 polling stations in four counties have been delivered for a recount as ordered by the Supreme Court.
The ballots were delivered on Wednesday morning August 31, 2022, by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) officials accompanied by police.
Ballots from 15 polling stations delivered for re-count as ordered by Supreme Court. PHOTO/Courtesy.
The ballots were delivered under tight security. PHOTO/Courtesy.
Supreme Court ordered recount in 15 polling stations
During a pre-trial hearing on Tuesday August 30, 2022, the Supreme Court ordered a recount of votes in 15 polling stations in four counties ahead of the hearing of the consolidated presidential petition.
In orders issued on Tuesday, the seven-judge bench led by Chief Justice Martha Koome directed IEBC to open ballot boxes in the affected regions for inspection, scrutiny and vote recount.
The polling stations include; Nandi Hills and Sinendeti Primary School in Nandi, Belgut, Kapsuser and Chepkutum Primary Schools in Kericho County; Jomvi, Mikindani and Ministry of Water Tanks Polling Stations in Mombasa County; Mvita, Majengo and Mvita Primary Schools in Mombasa County; Tinderet CONMO, in Nandi County; Jarok, Gathanji and Kiheo Primary School Polling in Nyandarua County.
The court also ordered scrutiny of forms 34A transmitted through the KIEMS kits from the polling stations in the elections held on August 9.
The inspection and vote count report will be tabled before the court at 2:00 pm, Thursday, August 31.
"Each Party shall be represented by two agents during the exercises above and they shall at times be under the supervision of the Registrar of the court and her staff," the orders read in part.
"The Registrar shall file her report by 5 pm on 1st September 2022 and avail copies to all parties." By Martin Oduor, PD
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said it is currently working with eight African countries to monitor clinical trials of traditional medicine-based therapeutics proposed for COVID-19.
Some of the countries are Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana and Madagascar
It stated that as part of efforts to advance continental efforts towards equitable access to medical products and technologies, all but eight African member states are now engaged in large-scale cultivation of medicinal and aromatic plants.
In a message to mark the African Traditional Medicine Day 2022, WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, said 19 countries have also established facilities for the local manufacturing of herbal medicines, with the number of herbal medicines registered by national regulatory authorities in 14 countries increasing from just 20 in 2000, to more than 100 this year.
She said: “WHO in the African Region has supported joint missions with partners to the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Madagascar, Nigeria, South Africa and Uganda, to monitor clinical trials of traditional medicine-based therapeutics proposed for COVID-19, eight of which are ongoing.”
She said the political will to be displayed by countries to support the innovations had been inspiring, just as the level of available infrastructure and skills.
According to Moeti, more than 45 herbal medicines now feature on national essential medicines lists.
The WHO scribe noted that the yearly commemorative activities have helped to create awareness that prompted more than 40 African countries to develop national traditional medicine policies by 2022, up from only eight in 2000.
“Thirty countries have also integrated traditional medicine into their national policies, a 100 per cent improvement on the situation in 2000. Additionally, 39 countries have established regulatory frameworks for traditional medicine practitioners, compared to only one in 2000, demonstrating good governance and leadership.
“On the African Traditional Medicine Day today, I call on governments to strengthen collaboration between science, technology and innovation institutions; traditional health practitioners and the private sector, to fast-track research and development, and local manufacturing of traditional medicine-based therapeutics for the health and well-being of Africa’s people,” she said. By Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja. ThisDay
James Orengo (L) and Julie Soweto (R), lawyers representing Raila Odinga in a presidential election petition at the Supreme Court on Wednesday, August 31. [Twitter]
Lawyers representing Raila Odinga in the Supreme Court presidential petition have argued that the August 9, 2022 presidential election was a product of craftiness by the IEBC and President-elect William Ruto.
James Orengo and Julie Soweto, who were the first to make their submissions at the apex court on Wednesday, said a vote manipulation scheme was hatched by the two respondents to ensure Ruto won the polls.
Citing affidavits by two people, Celestine Anyango Opiyo and Arnold Ochieng Oginga, Orengo and Soweto said there was evidence indicating that Odinga’s votes were reduced and added to Ruto’s in some polling stations.
This scheme, they said, was commonplace in the perceived strongholds of Ruto, especially in Bomet and Kiambu counties.
So elaborate and well-thought-out was the scheme, that the number of votes cast in the areas remained uninflated to avoid raising suspicion, said Orengo.
However, the lead counsel said, Odinga’s votes were reduced and added to Ruto’s to still match the number of votes cast.
“There was a systematic deduction of votes from Raila Odinga and the same number of votes that were deducted, were added to William Ruto. However, the unique things about this scheme was that the total number of votes cast remained the same,” said Orengo.
The lawyer said the pattern was replicated in other areas, and has the potential of changing the election outcome if fully scrutinised.
Orengo said this was manifest in the results entered in forms 34A at the polling stations, which were different from those recorded in forms 34B.
Form 34A is used to record presidential results at the polling station level. Form 34B, on the other hand, is a collation of all the forms 34A, and recorded at the constituency tallying centre.
Form 34C is a collation of all forms 34B. It is recorded at the national tallying centre, and it’s what the IEBC chairperson uses to establish who has won the presidential election.
Orengo said the discrepancies that they noticed in forms 34A and 34B accounted for more than 140,000 votes.
“That (discrepancy) has an impact on the results of the election. I invite the court to look into the votes garnered by each of the presidential candidates; the figures do not agree at all.”
Orengo’s co-lawyer, Julie Soweto, in her submission said despite the forms 34A sharing features such as serial numbers, stamps and agents’ signatures, the results that the presidential candidates’ agents had, were different from those announced by IEBC chairperson Wafula Chebukati.
In some 15 polling stations, she said, the difference was 2,793 votes.
“Figures are important because of the slim margin [of votes] that William Ruto got to be declared the presidential election winner,” said Soweto.
“For example, in Chepalungu polling station 1 of 1 [in Bomet County], Ruto had 109 votes, yet in Form 34A uploaded to the IEBC portal, he had 169 votes. On the other hand, 60 votes were reduced from Raila Odinga.
“This was the pattern in all 41 polling stations that we have sampled and annexed to the affidavits,” said Soweto.
The lawyer also questioned why in several polling stations, especially those in Central Kenya and Rift Valley, more voters cast their ballots for the president than other elective seat candidates.
The IEBC had, in their replying affidavit, said stray votes, violence and postponed elections in eight areas resulted in higher votes cast for president than some other seats.
A stray ballot paper, according to the IEBC, refers to the ballot paper dropped in the wrong category, for instance a marked MCA ballot paper dropped in the governor’s ballot box.
Soweto said the argument that stray votes contributed to a higher number of votes for presidency than other elective seats wasn’t convincing.
“In Kirinyaga County, for example, there was an average of 33 stray ballot papers per polling station. That’s not possible [naturally],” she said.
“That high number of stray ballot papers cannot be explained, and has not been explained,” she emphasised.
Away from the alleged discrepancies in the electoral forms, and the highlighted stray ballot papers’ irregularities, Orengo and Soweto called for the nullification of the presidential results, saying the IEBC’s divisions were testament of a commission in turmoil, hence not able to preside over transparent elections.
"We have a commission that is divided right in the middle. That speaks to a dysfunctional constitutional body that is not capable of presiding over an election,” said Orengo.
The senior counsel argued that IEBC’s results transmission system was breached in favour of William Ruto.
"The way that the commission dealt with the forms during upload and doBy Stephanie Wangari , The Standard
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