NASA presidential candidate Raila Odinga has claimed President Uhuru Kenyatta is preparing to use the military to rig the August election to retain power.
But the Office of the President has denied the allegations.
The opposition chief claimed that Uhuru had enlisted the services of the armed forces and the National Intelligence Service to craft a winning strategy.
Raila named Army Commander Robert Kibochi, Kenya Air Force Commander Major General Samuel Thuita, National Defence College boss Lt Gen Leonard Ngondi, Director of DCI Ndegwa Muhoro and Director General of National Intelligence Service Philip Kameru as being behind the vote-rigging plot.
He also alleged an ongoing ‘suspicious’ military training at the Embakasi Military Barracks, involving KDF officers, APs, county commanders and regional commanders.
Raila was accompanied by NASA co-principal and ANC leader Musalia Mudavadi during the media briefing at his Capitol Hill office in Nairobi.
“These trainings are all currently underway at Embakasi barracks. They have every semblance with what was done at the same venue in the lead-up to the 2007 General Election in which APs were later dispersed as election officials and poll agents for the Party of National Unity,” he said.
Interior ministry denies claims
In a quick response, Interior ministry spokesperson Mwenda Njoka said KDF and other security agencies have nothing to do with elections, apart from providing security.
“The government does not stop working just because we have elections. Security agencies play an integral role in elections. The NIS, KDF, NPS and all other security agencies will continue working even as we go to the election,” he said.
Njoka said the only activity at the Embakasi barracks is the multi-agency security training of security chiefs from 22 counties, identified as violence hotspots.
Interior CS Joseph Nkaissery on Monday launched Multi-Agency Exercise Dumisha Utulivu 2017.
Raila also claimed military officers have been dispatched to Kakamega county to be recruited as IEBC officials to tamper with election results from NASA’s Western stronghold.
“We have also in our possession information that several military officers are currently being hosted in Kakamega at the former provincial premises. We have information that these military officers are being prepared so as to be recruited as polling officials in the ongoing recruitment process,” the NASA chief said.
“Jubilee appears to be putting hopes on the old centralised tallying at the Bomas of Kenya that enables them to doctor and change results. It is now turning to using intelligence and security officers to influence the August election.”
Honour your code
Raila clarified he is not driving a wedge into his relationship with the military, but appealing to them to honour their code and be neutral.
The former Prime Minister also said secret meetings involving top commanders of various military formations have been going on in Naivasha under the chairmanship of former Chief of General Staff Julius Karangi.
In the 2013 polls, Raila accused the military, then under Karangi, of meddling in the tallying of votes at the Bomas of Kenya in favour of Uhuru.
The top-level security meetings is supposed to craft how to implement the rigging blueprint developed by the NIS that would ensure Uhuru’s win.
Raila said the first meeting mainly attended by officers from the NIS was tasked to draft Jubilee’s winning formula in case the IEBC loses an appeal that challenges the declaration of results at constituency level.
In January, Raila claimed the NIS was interfering with the voter registration by listing people in Uganda and Ethiopia. The IEBC and the Interior ministry dismissed the assertions as “malicious and intended to undermine the voter registration process”.
Raila also revisited the controversial ballot paper printing tender, denying claims by National Assembly Majority leader Aden Duale, who accused him of favouring a South African firm, Paarl Media, for the tender.
“I have just heard of the company (Paarl Media) from one Aden Duale,” said Raila.
He claimed there are many companies in Europe, the UK and Germany, capable of printing ballot papers questioning why the IEBC is adamant on Dubai firm Al Ghurair.
Raila has linked Al Ghurair to President Kenyatta, who is also a frontrunner in the August poll.
The opposition chief claimed there are two million extra ballot papers printed and which were stuffed in favour of Jubilee.