Former IEBC commissioner Irene Masiit on Thursday narrated to the National Dialogue Committee how she fled the country to save her life.
Masiit, who appeared virtually, said she caved in to grave threats to her life and used a motorbike one Saturday night to escape at night to former commissioner Justus Nyang’aya’s home as her house was surrounded by "goons".
The former commissioner said she made plans to get a plane ticket to Amsterdam the following day.
“I had to sneak from my home using the rear door and fence and jump on a motorbike to my colleague Nyang’aya’s home. My home was surrounded by goons,” she said.
Masiit said she arranged for a ticket, took a motorbike to the airport and paid the money in cash.
“I was actually the last person in the manifest,” she said as she sobbed.
Masiit said she is Canada on a visiting visa because she has continued to receive threats to withdraw a case she has filed in court challenging her removal by the Aggrey Chelule-tribunal.
"I will seek to extend my visitor visa until my case is done with. Until then, I will not come back."
Masiit and other former IEBC commissioners, including chairman Wafula Chebukati, vice chairperson Juliana Cherera, Boya Molu, Abdi Guliye, Nyang’aya and Francis Wanderi, were slated to appear before the Kalonzo Musyoka and Kimani Ichung’wah-led National Dialogue Committee at Bomas of Kenya.
But while Chebukati, Molu and Guliye sent a letter enumerating a litany of reasons for not being present, Nyang’aya and Wanderi appeared physically. Cherera and Masiit appeared virtually.
Chebukati justified his absence that their appearance would betray the commission staff who had allegedly been killed by police.
"Prof Guliye and Boya and I won’t be appearing before the National Dialogue Committee to discuss issues that have been resolved. To participate would be to betray IEBC staff who were tortured and murdered and a reward for impunity. Instead a Commission of Inquiry should be formed," he said.
Cherera also narrated how amid threats for her to resign and politicians demanding that she leaves office, her seven-year-old son endured ridicule and harassment in school.
She had to flee the country, she said.
"I'm currently out of the country and I will not say where I am because of these emotive issues of my safety," Cherera said.
The stormy session almost degenerated into a shouting match, when former Defence CS Eugene Wamalwa took the floor to ask questions, asserting that President William Ruto’s win remains illegitimate.
He also took issues with the tone of Chebukati’s letter, calling it “condescending, arrogant and that there must be an issue with his personality”.
“He differed with former commissioner Roselyne Akombe, with former CEO Ezra Chiloba, and now with four of you. Surely there is an issue with his personality, and not all those he differed with. It cannot be that all were wrong and he is right,” Eugene said.
EALA MP Hassan Omar, who had been trying to interject all the time Eugene spoke, raised his voice, protesting that the DAP party leader was wrong to derogate the character of the former IEBC chairman while he was not at the meeting to defend himself.
An exchange ensued and the former Defence CS stormed out.
Amid sustained clamour for opening of the election servers and auditing of the presidential election results to ascertain the right position, the team heard how the 'Cherera Four' (Nyang’aya, Wanderi Cherera and Masiit) were allegedly sidelined even as the former chairman seemed to pursue a predetermined end.
The four also asserted their belief that the results that declared President Ruto the victor were false, hence his legitimacy is questionable.
Nyang’aya, Wanderi Cherera and Masiit claimed they were forced to resign from their positions and did not leave office on their own accord.
They claimed that multiple threats by people they did not name as well as the fear of bloodshed in the ensuing toxic political climate forced them to leave office.
They claimed that they were unfairly treated for rejecting the alleged mishandling of the election results by Chebukati.
"It was the commission to tally and the chair to declare the results. Unfortunately, we were not given the opportunity to do that," Wanderi told the committee.
He said all commissioners were required to sign Form 34C, which had a summary of the presidential results from all constituencies.
"That form was never availed to us. What we got was a form containing a summary of the results from all counties," he said.
"It was unfair for us to be forced out. We hope the matter will be looked into."
The four commissioners -Nyang’aya, Wanderi Cherera and Masiit-rejected the presidential results announced by Chebukati on August 15, 2022, claiming the final tallying of the results was marred with discrepancies and irregularities.
They also claimed that when the results were eventually shown to them, the tallies went beyond 100 per cent.
They also said that all their claims were documented in their affidavit they filed before the Supreme Court during the hearing of Azimio’s unsuccessful petition.
Chebukati has insisted that the four dissenting commissioners were attempting to subvert the will of Kenyans.
On Thursday, Wanderi said Kenya should borrow a leaf from the Ghanaian system.
"They have the chair who has two deputies. They are the accounting officers who are full time staff," he stated.
Meanwhile, the dialogue team also heard the Registrar of Political Parties Ann Nderitu proposed that the Political Parties Fund be entrenched in the Constitution.
Nderitu said the move would ensure Parliament allocates the required funds to political parties.
"It is to be noted that the current Political Parties Fund under Section 24 of the Political Parties Act 2011, has never been realised," she stated.
Nderitu said entrenching the fund in the Constitution will expand democratic space for participation of marginalised groups in electoral processes.
Leader of Minority in the National Assembly Opiyo Wandayi concurred that the fund should be entrenched in the Constitution.
"I however do not know how entrenching it would enhance compliance on the part of the government. For 10 years, the government has consistently failed to comply with requirement.
Eugene said failing to allocate money for the fund as required is a threat to multiparty democracy.
Nderitu said there have been attempts in the past to do away with the fund.
"There have been very many attempts by activists and political actors to do away with the fund. Some of them have been saying the 0.3 per cent is too much," she told the committee.
Section 24 of the Political Parties Act, 2011 establishes the Political Parties Fund to be administered by the Registrar.
The fund is distributed to eligible political parties based on legal criteria and only to be used for the purposes outlined under Section 26 of the PPA as well as accounted for in line with principles of prudential financial management.
The main source of the Political Parties Fund is the national government (0.3 per cent of national revenue) with other recognised sources that may include membership subscription fee, contributions and donations.
The fund is geared towards promoting the representation in Parliament and in the county assemblies of women, persons with disabilities, youth, ethnic and other minorities and marginalised communities.
It is also meant for promoting active participation by individual citizens in political life, covering election expenses of political party and broadcasting of the policies of the party.
The money can also be used to conduct civic education.
Monies from the fund are used to cater to administrative expenses of the party, which shall not be more than 30 per cent of the money allocated to the party.
