President Uhuru Kenyatta has warned Bungoma County residents over the latest opinion polls that indicate that the county will be a swing vote in the August 9 polls.

Speaking on Tuesday, August 2, during the inspection of the rehabilitation of the Nzoia Sugar Company, Uhuru told the residents that they risked being left out of government.

He told locals that supporting his deputy, William Ruto, was akin to playing with fire and that only Azimio flag-bearer Raila Odinga would save them.

*President Uhuru Kenyatta addresses residents of Bungoma County during the inspection of the rehabilitation of Nzoia Sugar Company on Tuesday, August 2, 2022. PHOTO: COURTESY*

“My people in Bungoma, do not play with fire, you have already done that and got burned. Do you want to go back to the fire or to be saved? If so, the only way to get saved is Raila,”
he reiterated.

“This factory would have been producing 20 times as much as it is today if leaders really cared about sugar cane farmers and the people of Bungoma.

The Head of State told them not to fall for the sweet nothing by Kenya Kwanza principals Musalia Mudavadi and Moses Wetangula, whom he claimed had nothing to show despite being in government for decades.

“Some of them have been Cabinet Ministers since retired President Moi’s term in power, have any improvements been done to this company? And do you expect them to do anything now?”
Uhuru posed.

Bungoma County has become a headache for Raila Odinga’s Azimio camp in the Western region owing to the influence of FORD Kenya party which has dominated the county politics for decades.

Ken Lusaka, who was the pioneer county governor was elected on a Ford Kenya party ticket in 2013 before being ousted by Wycliffe Wangamati who ran on the same ticket in 2017.

In a poll released by Infotrak, Raila led in Bungoma with 46 per cent popularity and was closely followed by the DP at 44 percentage points.

According to the data from the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Bungoma County has a total of 635,146 votes.

DP Ruto confronts Matiang’i, NIS over leaflets circulating in his backyard

Bungoma County has nine constituencies: Mt Elgon, Sirisia, Kabuchai, Bumula, Kanduyi, Webuye East, Webuye West, Kimilili and Tongaren.

A split in the votes cast would dent Raila’s bid to secure the threshold – 50 per cent plus one votes – to be declared the winner of the election in first round.

While Raila has enjoyed favourable support in Western Kenya, Ruto has been burning midnight oil to wrestle the vote-rich region from his political opponent.

Local News

IEBC issues statement on disappearance of 3,000 KIEMS kits

August 3, 2022 Ian Amulega

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has denied reports that 3,000 KIEMS kits have gone missing.

In a statement dated Wednesday, August 3, IEBC Chairperson Wafula Chebukati – in response to concerns raised by the Kenya Kwanza faction and the Azimio la Umoja brigade, reiterated that the reports were misleading.

Chebukati indicated that it was the BVR kits that had disappeared and that they were only used for the registration of voters in past elections.

*A file image of someone registering as a voter in a past exercise. PHOTO: COURTESY*

Further, the electoral body downplayed fears that stolen KIEMS kits can be used to manipulate poll results insisting that they had put in measures to prevent such incidents.

“This report is false and misleading. The Auditor General’s report made reference to BVR kits and not KIEMS kits. BVR kits are used for voter registration and not voting. The Commission procured 15,000 BVR kits in 2012 that have technically reached the end of life.

“The Commission keeps an inventory of all its kits and in the event of any loss, the kit will be blocked from doing any transaction on the system,”
read the statement in part.

Additionally, the Chebukati-led agency insisted that the Form 34’s – used for tabulating presidential results cannot be tampered with given the special features they had put in them.

“These measures include but are not limited to visible and invisible security features, polling station data personalization, barcodes and QR codes.

“IEBC in partnership with the National Police Service has deployed armed security to guard ballot papers in transit and at the respective warehouses,”
he stated.

However, the Electoral body stated that discrepancies on the presidential results form can only be resolved by the presiding officers at the polling station or the supreme court.

“Complaints with respect to the results announced at the polling station must be resolved by the Presiding Officer.

“Any complaints or discrepancies that may arise in the results Form 34A can only be resolved by the Supreme Court through a Presidential Election Petition pursuant to the decision in Raila Amolo Odinga & Another v Independent Electoral and BoundariesCommission & 2 others (2017)”
Chebukati stated.

Politics & Governance

DP Ruto’s allies express discontent over huge number of cops deployed in Ruto’s backyard

August 2, 2022 Ian Amulega

Deputy President William Ruto’s allies have come out to fault a decision by Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i to deploy more security officers in his perceived strongholds.

This is after the CS announced that security would be beefed up in Nakuru, Eldoret, Kuresoi and Molo areas ahead of August 9 polls.

UDA Nakuru county gubernatorial candidate Susan Kihika lashed out at the Interior boss, claiming that his directive would only cause panic in the region.

*Deputy President William Ruto and Senator Susan Kihika in Nakuru County on February 11, 2022. COURTESY SUSAN KIHIKA*

“Ridiculous! Matiangi’s goal is to create tension in Nakuru, which is peaceful. There is no justification for deploying General Service Unit (GSU) officers to Molo & Kuresoi,”
Kihika claimed.

The outspoken senator further accused Matiang’i of being used by the government to intimidate the residents in areas where UDA enjoys a massive following in a bid to stop them from exercising their civil right to vote on August 9.

She opined that deploying officers just because of the inflammatory leaflets circulating in the region-which the Kenya Kwanza brigade has sensationally linked to Matiang’i and PS Karanja Kibicho -was unnecessary.

“His intention is to suppress the vote in our strongholds. The same individuals behind the inciting leaflets are using them as an excuse to deploy GSU! Shameless!”
Kihika ranted.

In an earlier statement, Matiang’i explained that the decision which had been approved by the National Security Council was made based on an assessment that revealed the regions were vulnerable to violence.

“Police have got eight suspects in custody in connection with the circulation of those leaflets,
and investigations continue. We have teams on the ground that have been working here for a
long time, and we are collecting more intelligence in real-time,”
Fred Matiangi said.

“The GSU officers are not here for any particular aggression but to demonstrate that we are ready to rise up to any challenge that may come up. We are also going to increase surveillance and patrol in the areas,”
the CS reiterated.

In addition, a multi-agency command centre has been established in Nakuru to provide 24/7 surveillance and prompt response should the need arise.

He added that eight suspects had been arrested in connection with the circulating leaflets. Notably, the security boss dismissed claims that the leaflets were a project by employees in the office of the president.

Speaking in Nyeri, UDA running mate Rigathi Gachagua insisted that the Interior CS and PS were using chiefs to campaign for Azimio candidate Raila Odinga.

He called on the administrators to stick to their job descriptions, adding that they should use the financial incentives allegedly offered to them to improve the welfare of their wives.

Local News

Eight suspects arrested over inciting leaflets in Uasin Gishu

August 2, 2022 Ian Amulega

8 people have been arrested in connection with the threatening leaflets that were circulated in Uasin Gishu County, Interior CS Fred Matiang’i has said.

The CS while pledging to crack down on everyone involved in the spread of hate during the electioneering period stated that Kenya is a democratic country that allows divergent political views.

He further ascertained that the 8 arrested have no links to the office of the president as earlier claimed by the Ruto-led Kenya Kwanza team.

“Even the claims you heard yesterday that the leaflets were authored by people from the office of the president, now we have eight suspects in police custody and none of them is an employee of the office of the president,”
Fred Matiang’i said.

Read: Matatu Tout Arrested for Incitement to Violence Against Fruit Vendors in Kericho

Earlier in the week, there were claims that leaflets had been circulated in different parts to coerce people to vote for a certain faction of people. Failure of which there were consequences.

Deputy President William Ruto while addressing the same accused the office of the President of plotting to cause disharmony in the country with elections just days away.

“I want to tell my friend Mr. President, the same way you told off (DCI George) Kinoti when he started that nonsense of post-election violence please tell off the characters at the office of the president who are now printing pamphlets to cause disharmony in the Republic of Kenya, they need to stop because they are not about to succeed,”
Ruto said during a rally.

The incident has since been condemned by religious leaders and politicians alike.

30 elders from different communities in Uasin Gishu also condemned the acts while calling on tolerance of each other’s opinions.