The President of Kenya, William Ruto, has denounced the existence of a plot to kidnap and assassinate the head of the electoral commission, Wafula Chebukati, after the ratification of his victory in the August 2022 presidential election.
Ruto was declared the winner of these elections with 50.5 percent of the votes, although former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, backed by outgoing President Uhuru Kenyatta, rejected the results and denounced fraud.
«We know that there was a direct attempt to kidnap Wafula Chebukati and assassinate him so that the commission would be paralyzed or get a compliant commissioner to overthrow popular sovereignty,» he said, according to the news portal Citizen Digital.
«It was a hard, cold and lonely time, the threats were great, but the promised rewards were plentiful,» he said, before accusing the «system» of this alleged plan to assassinate Chebukati.
Ruto has further claimed that Chebukati and other top officials of the electoral commission «received offers of stupendous financial rewards if they cooperated with the agents with impunity.» «They resisted bravely,» the Kenyan president stressed.
«We also know that, after that, they were threatened with harsh consequences for themselves and their families,» he said, while applauding «the unwavering commitment» of these individuals to their «constitutional responsibility» in confirming the election results.
The Kenyan Supreme Court rejected in September the appeals presented by the opposition and endorsed the victory of Ruto, until then vice-president of the country and distanced from Kenyatta for his constant tensions during the last years.
For his part, Odinga said that, although he «respects the opinion of the court», he disagrees «vehemently» with the decision taken by the highest judicial body in the country. The former prime minister also refused to attend Ruto’s inauguration, which took place on September 13.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
