Exactly five years ago today, an
ominous cloud was hanging over the country as Kenyans grew impatient with the
delayed announcement of the presidential election results.
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A group of youths brandish
crude weapons during protests in Nairobi
December 31, 2007 following
the announcement of the disputed
results of the presidential
elections. Photo/FILE NATION MEDIA GROUP
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They were alarmed that unlike past
elections, the results of the votes they had cast for their preferred
presidential candidate in the polls on December 27, 2007, were yet to be
announced two days later.
More so was the Orange Democratic
Movement (ODM) team which had seen the lead built by its presidential candidate
Raila Odinga drastically reduced by votes which had trickled in from Central
Kenya.
For chroniclers of history, December
29, 2007, a Saturday just like today, marked the beginning of 30 hours in which
a country, hitherto referred to as a haven of peace surrounded by unstable
neighbours, would be destroyed.
Of course, this was not to say that
Kenya’s stability ran deep to its roots- bits of election violence had been
witnessed in parts of the country in previous poll years going back to 1992.
But the seismic wave underlying the political rivalry between President Kibaki
of Party of National Unity (PNU) and Mr Odinga of ODM was so strong,
threatening to set off the tectonic plates that held Kenya together.
Nairobi’s Central Business District
was turned into a ghost town with no vehicles on the roads, shops closed and
city residents safely locked in their houses. Few PNU and ODM supporters, were
however at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre (KICC), which was the
now defunct Electoral Commission of Kenya’s main tallying centre.
Heightened tension
The tension was heightened by reports
that violence had broken out in some parts of the country following claims that
the results were being rigged.
A group of journalists who were at the
KICC were under pressure from their respective news rooms to find out exactly
what was happening. The then ECK boss, Mr Samuel Kivuitu, and his team led by
then Commissioner Jack Tumwa at the KICC were of little help. The election
observers and some officials who had been seconded to the ECK tallying teams
offered little help.
The commission’s main tallying centre
was made up of 10 teams, with each team working on results from 21
constituencies. The task of each team was to verify results from the
constituencies by comparing the outcome with forms 16, 16A and 17A from
returning officers before computing the results which were to be announced by
Mr Kivuitu at the media centre.
Mr Kivuitu’s team allowed domestic
observers to monitor the verification process before the announcement of the
results. It was some minutes after noon that signs of things not going well in
the verification of the results began to emerge.
A few commissioners expressed concern
over the delayed results from certain areas. Indeed, it took Mr Kivuitu to
raise the commission’s concern later in the afternoon when he complained
publicly that he could not reach some of the returning officers in the field.
Their cell phones, he said, were off
and quipped that some of them could be “cooking” results. Results from Lamu
East and Lamu West later came in without requisite documents and there was a
push for them to be accepted- no one could say where the push came from. This
was also the case with results from Dujis and Wundanyi constituencies.
At night, the ECK had received results
from all constituencies apart from 14 in which it was said they were riddled
with serious anomalies.
Monitor verification process
Observers who had requested Mr
Kivuitu’s intervention to monitor the verification process on Saturday night,
revealed that some of the results were either accompanied by unsigned forms or
only photocopies of the forms.
In some, returning officers delivered
in person results different from the ones they had reported on phone. Garsen,
Kipipiri, Starehe, Turkana Central, Turkana North, Kajiado North and Kinangop
constituencies’ results came in without proper documents.
The electoral commission announced
results from 22 constituencies without the required documents. These were
Makadara, Galole, Ijara, Lamu East, Dujis, Likoni, Igembe South, Malindi,
Wundanyi, Voi, Alego, Kitutu Masaba, Bumula, Bomachoge, Kuria, Kimilili,
Nyaribari Chache, Kieni, Ol Kalou and North Imenti.
At about 11pm, a parliamentary clerk,
Mr Kipkemoi Kirui, who had been seconded to the ECK claimed that the tally was
being manipulated in some centres.
At this time, PNU presidential agent
Martha Karua and her ODM counterpart James Orengo demanded to be allowed in to
the tallying centres to verify results from each constituency as required by
the law.
They were to carry out the exercise
over the night as some MPs from both sides pitched camp at the KICC exchanging
harsh words with the word ‘rigging’ dominating their exchange.
An attempt by then ODM supporter
Miguna Miguna to enter into the tallying centres was thwarted by security teams
which were being beefed up as it became clear that the presidential election
results would not be announced the following day.
The following day, amid tight security
and with security agents having cleared KICC of MPs including Mr Odinga, Mr
Kivuitu announced the results through the national broadcaster KBC plunging the
country into unprecedented violence.
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