Ruto: There Was an Attempt to Abduct and Assassinate Chebukati

President Ruto says there was an attempt to assassinate IEBC Chairperson Wafula Chebukati during last year’s general election.

Ruto claimed the failed plot by the ‘system’ involved abducting and killing Chebukati in a bid to subvert the will of the people. 

"We know that there was a direct attempt to abduct Wafula Chebukati and murder him so that the commission would be paralyzed, or a compliant commissioner takes over and subvert the people’s sovereignty," said Ruto.

Ruto, who spoke during a meeting with constitutional commissions at State House, Nairobi on Tuesday, further said IEBC officials were also threatened and offered huge monetary rewards to interfere with the election’s outcome.

"It was a hard, cold and lonely time, the threats were dire, the promised rewards lavish and the pressure relentless. We now know that Chebukati, commissioners Abdi Yakub Guliye and Boya Molu as well as the CEO, Hussein Marjan, and their staff, were offered stupendous financial rewards to cooperate with the agents of impunity, but they bravely resisted," said Ruto.

"We also know that they were subsequently threatened with dire consequences for them and their families if they did not do the ‘system’s bidding and overturn the choice of Kenyans. Again, we know that they stood strong and firmly said “NO!”," he added.

The president commended Chebukati and his team for standing firm and resisting attempts to subvert the will of the electorate.

"It is this uncompromising commitment to his constitutional responsibility that enabled Chebukati to lead IEBC in learning effectively from the 2013 and 2017 elections to deliver an election that met the highest standards and, in fact, that was ‘unstealable’," said Ruto.

Chebukati and commissioners Abdi Guliye and Boya Molu left office on Tuesday after the expiry of their six-year terms.