In the run-up to the publication of the presidential results last year, Kenya’s President William Ruto made startling charges of a plot to kidnap and murder the chairman of the electoral commission.
Mr Ruto was proclaimed the presidential election winner, receiving 50.5% of the vote, amid dramatic scenes at the vote tallying center.
Despite threats, Wafula Chebukati, chairman of the Electoral Commission, said he had carried out his duties.
On Tuesday the president said the conspiracy to abduct Mr Chebukati was sanctioned by the “highest” official, according to local media sources.
“We know that there was a clear attempt to abduct Mr Chebukati and murder him so that he commission would be paralysed, or a compliant commissioner take over and violate the people’s sovereignty. The warnings were terrible, the promised rewards were rich, and the pressure was persistent,” President Ruto recalled.
He delivered the remarks at State House in Nairobi at a meeting with commissioners and independent offices.
Raila Odinga’s ODM party, the president’s election opposition, has sneered at the remarks, calling them a “well-choreographed chorus.” “.
“They should put the claims before a commission of Inquiry when one is created.”