The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Chairperson Wafula Chebukati has accused his opponents of hatching an elaborate plot to kick him out of office, following a move by a petitioner to have the courts force him to open the 2017 presidential election servers.
Activist Khalif Khaleefa has filed a case in court and named Raila plus Kalonzo as interested parties, as he seeks to revisit Supreme Court orders of 2017 requiring the electoral agency to open the servers and bar its chairperson Chebukati from holding office until he complies with the orders.
“In direct violation of the orders of the honourable court, Wafula Chebukati, the returning officer of the presidential elections has refused and willfully disobeyed the orders of the honourable court and denied the parties and Kenyan people access to the technology, and particularly the servers used in the presidential elections whose results were subject to petition number one of 2017 before the Supreme Court,” Khaleefa, who also wants Chebukati jailed for six months says in the court documents.
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“For the dignity of the court to be preserved, it is imperative that my application be heard urgently and in particular, Wafula Chebukati be immediately committed to civil jail for six months for being in violation of the said orders,” the activist adds.
However, in an attempt to defend himself from accusations of disobeying the 2017 court order requiring him to open the 2017 servers, Chebukati says the case filed by the activist is a plot to kick him out from the helm of IEBC, and that the High Court should dismiss the case since it had no powers bar him from office and that the only place his fate can be determined is in the National Assembly or before the Supreme Court.
“I aver that the intention is targeted towards achieving one purpose – derailing and frustrating my ability to discharge my mandate as the chairperson of the commission; taking into consideration the preparation of the forthcoming 2022 General Election,” the IEBC chair responds.
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Raila Odinga and Kalonzo Musyoka, named as interested parties are represented by Lumallas, Achieng and Kavere Advocates, Oraro and Company Advocates, Awele and Company Advocates in the case.
On August 28, 2017, the Supreme Court ordered an Information and Communication Technology officer and two independent IT experts appointed by the court to supervise access to the technology in the election servers to Raila Odinga and the court.
