IEBC Says It Lacks Jurisdiction to Probe Ruto’s Vote-Rigging Claims as They Were Made in the US

IEBC says it has asked the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Noordin Haji to investigate Deputy President William Ruto’s vote-rigging claims.

Speaking on Thursday, IEBC Chairperson Wafula Chebukati said the commission forwarded the matter to the DPP for investigations and further action.

Chebukati stated that the electoral commission lacks jurisdiction to probe the allegations by the deputy president since they were made outside the country.

Ruto, who spoke during his tour of the United States early this month, claimed that some government agencies and a clique of individuals were planning to influence the outcome of the forthcoming elections in favor of his main competitor Raila Odinga. 

“As a leader, I have taken the position to speak against any attempts to try and straightjacket people into predetermined outcomes. We would have expected to do this without the baggage of blackmail and intimidation that is going on but unfortunately, that is where we are,” said Ruto.

He added: “There is a huge pushback by citizens against any attempts to choreograph the next dispensation. We want to make our choices without being chaperoned, blackmailed, or intimidated.”

He made the claims while speaking at the Karson Institute for Race, Peace, and Social justice in Loyola University in Maryland, where he appealed to the US and the international community to intervene and stop attempts to rig the August 9th presidential election.