I don't blame Ruto for bungled polls, Raila says

"Evidence that we have is substantial. It cannot be controverted."

In Summary
  • He said the plan to rig him out of victory had been happening for a long time, adding that they had carried out investigations into the same.
  • He said they had substantial evidence of who were involved and the conversations they had, including judicial members at the Supreme Court.
Azimio leader Raila Odinga
Azimio leader Raila Odinga
Image: FILE

Chief Opposition leader Raila Odinga has said he does not blame President William Ruto over the alleged rigging of the August polls.

He, however, pointed his finger at former IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati over the rigging claims.

Raila spoke on Tuesday during a late-night interview with KTN.

"I don't blame William Ruto, Chebukati was working on behalf of Ruto," he said.

He said the plan to rig him out of victory had been happening for a long time, adding that they had carried out investigations into the same.

Raila said they had substantial evidence of who was involved and the conversations they had, including members of the Supreme Court.

"Evidence that we have is substantial. It cannot be controverted," he said.

Raila claimed they found out his loss was designed by Chebukati getting involved in the procurement of the ICT infrastructure and collusion between him and the IEBC CEO Hussein Marjan with Smartmatics.

He condemned the removal of the Cherera Four from office, and the Justice Aggrey Muchelule-led tribunal for its conclusion that Azimio had the plot to rig the elections.

"It is so annoying the kind of confidence these guys have. That they can try to lie to the whole nation the way they have," he said.

"We said these must be the end. We don't want Kenyans to be run again this way."

The leader said in hindsight, he wishes he had pushed for the removal of Chebukati from office, before the 2018 handshake.

"We should not have agreed to go to elections under Chebukati. But the thing was the fear that the country was going to break apart," he added.

Raila said he consulted a diplomat of the EU on how the scenario would have played out following the dissenting decision of the four commissioners. 

"He said that it would not be acceptable. Where four commissioners say no and three say yes. He said that the country would be suspended from the EU," he added. 

Raila maintained that he won the 2022 polls with 8.1 million votes against Ruto's 5.9 million.

Official results released by the IEBC showed that Ruto won with 7.1 million votes against Raila's 6.9 million.

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