Over 100 Military Officers Deployed in Kakamega County to Aid Election Rigging, Raila Claims

In a new elections rigging claims, Opposition chief Raila Odinga says that more than 100 Kenya Defense Forces (KDF) have been deployed by Jubilee in Kakamega County to aid in Jubilee’s scheme to manipulate results of the upcoming elections.

"KDF soldiers are being trained for recruitment as polling and presiding officers to help rig the election," he told a press conference in Nairobi.

"Several officers are being hosted in Kakamega at the former provincial Headquarters’. They are being prepared to become Returning Officers." He added.

The former Prime Minister further said that soldiers were also training civilians, adding that the program was similar to what was allegedly done at the same venue before the 2007 general election.

"We are challenging the national government and leaders of security forces to explain why military officers are training civilians," he said.

He noted: "A training of KDF officers on crowd control is going on at Embakasi military barracks."

"This country deserves good leadership. It is upon us [to prevent] a repeat of what happened in 2007. That is why we are pointing this out," he said.

The Orange Democratic Movement leaders, who is the National Super Alliance (NASA) Presidential candidate also linked the National Intelligence Service to a vote rigging scheme, alleging that top security officials, under chairmanship of Former Chief of Defense Forces Julius Karangi, recently held three meetings in Naivasha to scheme how President Uhuru Kenyatta will retain power at all costs.

Comments

GUEST1 (not verified)     Wed, 06/21/2017 @ 08:45am

When addressing Kakamega Residents recently, Uhuru said Jubilee kushinda "Dawa ni ileile tu." Seeming to mean KUIBA KURA, IEBC, na High Court. Huh?

Meanwhile:
Wajaribu hiyo MCHEZO wao huko KISUMU tuone; because Luhyas are Jubilee's Weakest Link. Pumbafu Luhyas bure Kabisa.

sauti ugenini (not verified)     Wed, 06/21/2017 @ 01:06pm

Let me open my mouth here, Raila should stop propaganda of rigging , this counts as incitement to chaos when defeated, KDF, I support their presence in NYANZA regions due to stupidity of SOME people there after elections, I have lived there and I speak from experience,Rao likes people to loot and destroy ppls properties in terms of peaceful demonstrations, GOVT, this tume round I urge military presence in hot spots no matter what NASA, talk about, but be warned if u have any motive apart from using them as decurity then the curse will be on you, WE NEED PEACE, before and after elections, I know there are crooked people who need KDF/Police to keep them straight on track, Pamoja NASA, jubilee, or independent, May whoever win WIN BIG!!!!!!!!

Vitendawili Ojinga (not verified)     Sat, 06/24/2017 @ 09:06pm

Ojinga is at it again.Lies and no hard evidence to back them up.
I learnt at a very young age while in my first It is never a smart thing to politicise security forces. Yet that is what we appear to be doing ahead of the August 8 elections. Former Prime Minister Raila Ojinga is on record accusing the Jubilee administration of deploying security forces to strategic parts of the country in a bid to sway the outcome in President Uhuru Kenyatta’s favour. I know we have become immune to such charges, but this is not a trivial claim. If we are to remain a democracy we must ensure the security forces stay politically neutral, and only loyal to the republic.
To make this happen, all political leaders need to be careful with their actions and public statements. Ojinga’s claims must be backed with hard evidence and a formal complaint to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) and the Director of Public Prosecutions. It is not enough to raise the alarm. Kenyans are adults, and can deal with facts. Share the information so that people of good will can decide for themselves.

On his part, President Kenyatta must resist the temptation of using the security forces to engineer a favourable electoral outcome. To paraphrase the late George Saitoti, he must realise that there comes a time when the republic is bigger than all of us.
Using the military, in the manner claimed by Ojinga, would set a bad precedent for future presidents and would expose us to coups and counter coups. That is a problem we have managed to avoid for much of our history. And we should not play with fire. Remember countries like Brazil and Turkey continued to suffer coups and counter coups decades after the generals got their first taste of power. This is a path we must avoid at all costs. It is not part of our political culture.
Lastly, our soldiers must not allow themselves to be used as political pawns. They wear their uniforms in our names. Fight and die in our names. And together with their families have made sacrifices that we can never repay them for.

This is a sacred commitment that we should not desecrate for the sake of politics. As a society, we must internalise the fact that there are things we hold sacred and inviolable. And honouring our armed forces is definitely up there on the list. It is for this reason that we should avoid the temptation to drag their honour and service in the mud of everyday political scheming.
The ability to engage in competitive electoral politics without trashing of key institutions of state is a key indicator of political maturity. We must be able to compete politically, even in the midst of the ugliest of elections without destroying our courts, police force, military, or civil service.
Indeed, our goal should be to invest in ensuring institutions of state are firewalled from our politics as much as possible. Politicisation tends to lead to eventual collapse of public ethos and service delivery. This is not a direction that we should consciously choose to follow. We are better than this.

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